Legal headache deepens for TikTok in US, after a number of states file lawsuits alleging platform harms, fails to protect children

The legal challenges facing ByteDance’s TikTok in the United States continue to mount this week, after lawsuits were filled by a number of US states.

Reuters reported that 13 US states, as well as the the District of Columbia on Tuesday, filed lawsuits that accuse the popular social media platform of allegedly harming and failing to protect young people.

It should be remembered that it only in August this year that the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against TikTok and parent company ByteDance, alleging they failed to protect children’s privacy.

TikTok lawsuits

That August lawsuit alleged TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law prohibiting the collection, use or disclosure of personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.

That lawsuit alleged that TikTok knowingly allowed children to create standard accounts and to create and share short videos and messages with adults and others on the platform.

The platform also collected personal information from these children without consent from their parents, the agencies had alleged.

Now Reuters has reported that new lawsuits filed by 13 US states and the District of Columbia were filed separately in New York, California, the District of Columbia and 11 other states.

The states accuse TikTok of using intentionally addictive software designed to keep children watching as long and often as possible and misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness, Reuters noted.

“TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta is quoted as saying in a statement. “TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defences or capacity to create healthy boundaries around addictive content.”

TikTok seeks to maximise the amount of time users spend on the app in order to target them with ads, the states allege.

“Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok,” New York Attorney General Letitia James was quoted as saying.

TikTok response

However TikTok immediately responded to the lawsuits and allegations on Tuesday, telling Reuters that it strongly disagreed with the claims, “many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading,” and that it was disappointed the states chose to sue “rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industrywide challenges.”

TikTok provides safety features including default screentime limits and privacy defaults for minors under 16, the company reportedly said.

Meanwhile Reuters also noted that Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb alleged TikTok operates an unlicensed money transmission business through its live streaming and virtual currency features.

“TikTok’s platform is dangerous by design. It’s an intentionally addictive product that is designed to get young people addicted to their screens,” Schwalb reportedly in an interview.

Washington’s lawsuit accused TikTok of allegedly facilitating sexual exploitation of underage users, saying TikTok’s live streaming and virtual currency “operate like a virtual strip club with no age restrictions.”

The US states taking part in this action include Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington state.

Other states that previously sued TikTok for failing to protect children from harm, including Utah and Texas.

Nationwide ban?

TikTok is already fighting against a potential nationwide ban in America, after it said that the “unprecedented” law forcing it to divest its US operations from parent ByteDance or be banned would have “staggering” outcomes for free speech in the country.

US lawmakers have cited national security concerns around Chinese control of the popular app, which has 170 million users in America.

Data on US users could be passed to Chinese authorities, or the Chinese government could access TikTok’s recommendation systems to influence what Americans see on the app, lawmakers have argued.

The firm has stated that US data is not linked to China, as the content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the US on cloud servers operated by Oracle.