14 AGs Sue TikTok Over Mental Health, Data Concerns

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Facts

  • Attorneys general from 13 states and Washington, DC, filed lawsuits against the social media platform TikTok on Tuesday over accusations that it's damaging younger users' mental health and collecting minors' data without consent.[1][2]
  • The lawsuits allege that TikTok — owned by China-based ByteDance and has 170M American users — violated state laws by falsely claiming its service is safe for young people and hosts 'addictive' features such as 24/7 notifications and video autoplay.[2]
  • One of the focal points of the suits is the TikTok algorithm, which tailors content to each individual user — a design the attorneys general claim leads to children becoming addicted, thereby boosting TikTok's revenue from targeted ads.[3][2]
  • The legal actions also address 'TikTok 'challenges'' — which see users encouraged to record viral trends — and the alleged collection of data from users under 13 without parental consent, which violates federal online privacy law.[2][4]
  • A TikTok spokesperson called the accusations 'inaccurate and misleading' and said the company is 'deeply committed to the work' that has been done to protect teenagers. The company also claims it will continue to 'update and improve' the app.[3]
  • TikTok is facing other challenges, including a law — signed by US Pres. Joe Biden in April — to ban the app in the US if ByteDance doesn't sell it to an American buyer.[5]

Sources: [1]CBS, [2]NBC, [3]Associated Press, [4]Healthline and [5]Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Anti-China narrative, as provided by New York Post. TikTok is a scourge on society. The app makes billions of dollars off of ad revenue from minors while poisoning their minds, leading many children to partake in deadly trends. At the same time, the platform is an extension of China's invisible hand, raising serious national security concerns. TikTok must be held accountable for its harmful acts.
  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. Like the divest-or-ban law the US passed earlier this year, these suits are just part of a witch hunt against TikTok to make US politicians look like they're tough on China during an election year. These hysterical actions are harming the China-US relations that had been stabilizing in recent years.

Predictions