Catherine Rusoff
Nebraska is suing social media giant TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, alleging the platform targets minors with “addictive design” and is “fueling a youth mental health crisis.”
“TikTok has shown no regard for the wreckage its exploitative algorithm is leaving behind,” said Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in a statement.
O lawsuitfiled in state court on Wednesday, claims the platform engages in “deceptive and unfair business practices,” claiming it is “family friendly” and “safe for young users.”
The lawsuit alleges that TikTok does not follow its own Community Guidelines, which state that the platform does not allow “content that could put young people at risk.” The platform has also spent millions on advertising claiming it is suitable for young people, the complaint alleges, and TikTok representatives have repeatedly testified that the company monitors harmful content and removes content that may cause harm to minors or that otherwise violates its Community Guidelines.
But the lawsuit alleges that the opposite is true and that teens and children view inappropriate content based on the platform’s algorithm and “addictive design.”
As part of its investigation, Nebraska created TikTok accounts for fictitious registered minor users aged 13, 15 and 17, the lawsuit states. Within minutes, the lawsuit claims, teen users were directed to inappropriate content by the TikTok algorithm, including videos described in graphic detail in the lawsuit as simulating sexual acts and encouraging eating disorders.
Much of the content sent to minors is encouraged by the “For You” feed, the lawsuit claims, which shows users alleged inappropriate content without them searching for similar videos. Instead, the video simply appears in minors’ feeds uninvited, the lawsuit states.
Hilgers said children see “inappropriate content, from videos that encourage suicidal ideation and fuel depression, create body image issues and encourage eating disorders to those that encourage drug use and sexual content that is completely inappropriate for young children.”
These interactions fueled “a youth mental health crisis in Nebraska,” the lawsuit states.
TikTok refutes the accusations.
“TikTok has industry-leading safeguards to support teen well-being, including age-restricted features, parental controls, an automatic 60-minute time limit for under 18s, and more. We will continue working to address these concerns across the industry,” a company spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
The Nebraska lawsuit comes as TikTok struggles the US government on recent legislation demanding that the platform sever ties with its China-based owner within a year or be effectively banned in the United States.
TikTok said in a lawsuit filed earlier this month that banning the popular social media platform would violate its users’ First Amendment rights. Eight TikToker users – with millions of followers between them – filed a similar lawsuit against the federal government last week.
More than 30 states and the federal government have banned the app on state or government devices. Montana became the first state ban the app last May, a few months later a federal judge overturned the decisionin part because the ban “violates the constitutional rights of users and businesses.”
—Melissa Quinn and C. Mandler contributed reporting.
