Fourteen attorneys general, led by officials in New York and California, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday accusing social media platform TikTok of harming the mental health of young users and collecting their data without consent. The legal action, organized by a bipartisan coalition of 14 law enforcement officials, accuses TikTok of violating state law by falsely claiming that its service was safe for young people. The lawsuits were filed separately.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement: "Because social media platforms like TikTok are addictive, young people are struggling with their mental health. TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but this is far from the truth."
The lawsuit focuses in part on what the plaintiffs call "addictive" features, including around-the-clock notifications and video autoplay. The lawsuit documents also focus on "dangerous TikTok 'challenges'" and the collection of data from users under the age of 13 without parental consent - which allegedly violates federal online privacy laws.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In recent years, a growing number of health professionals have sounded the alarm about the impact of excessive social media use on physical and mental health, especially among children and adolescents. In a report released in May 2023, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that the use of social media is the main cause of depression, anxiety and other problems among American teenagers.
Morsi also wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in June this year, calling on Congress to require tobacco-style warnings for visitors to social media platforms, arguing that immediate action is needed to protect young people from the potential harm of social media to mental health.
Earlier this year, the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned the CEOs of TikTok, Meta and X during a hearing on online child safety and youth mental health.
The publication of "The Anxious Generation" by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt this spring sparked a heated discussion in academic circles about whether spending too much time using smartphones could endanger the mental health of young people. Haidt believes that the "childhood switch" dominated by smartphones is leading to an "epidemic of mental illness."
TikTok has become one of the most popular and influential social media platforms in the United States, with a seemingly endless supply of viral content and memes. This video-sharing app has more than 170 million U.S. users, attracting the attention of young people across the United States;
But the service's rise has been overshadowed by mental health and national security concerns. TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance, and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern that the Chinese government is using TikTok to collect data, spread political propaganda and exercise soft power amid broader geopolitical tensions.
The lawsuit filed Monday does not involve national security. They sought to outline the company's "fundamental business model," which the alliance described as "maximizing the time young users spend on the platform, thereby increasing the company's revenue from selling targeted advertising."
The attorneys general behind the lawsuits are trying to use state laws to stop TikTok from using "harmless and exploitative tactics." The lawsuits also seek to impose financial penalties, including "the disgorgement of all profits resulting from the fraudulent and illegal conduct and the collection of damages from harmed users," James' office said.
The legal coalition consists of the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington state and Washington, DC.
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