HIGHLIGHTS
- According to TikTok, it focuses on age-appropriate experiences.
- TikTok was compelled by regulators to describe how its activities influence minors.
- TikTok has received a storm of criticism from government leaders.
State attorneys general have initiated a statewide inquiry into TikTok and its potential negative impacts on the mental health of teenage users, broadening official scrutiny of the enormously popular video network.
A number of states, led by California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont, announced the probe on Wednesday.
TikTok has been chastised by US politicians and federal regulators for practises and computer-driven promotion of content that they claim endangers the physical and emotional health of young users. The network has an estimated 1 billion monthly users and is particularly popular among teenagers and younger children.
Texas launched an inquiry last month into TikTok's alleged abuses of children's privacy and facilitation of human trafficking.
"Our children are growing up in the age of social media — and many feel pressured to measure up to the filtered versions of reality that they see on their screens," California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated in a news release. "We know that this has a catastrophic impact on the mental health and well-being of youngsters."
According to Bonta, the inquiry wants to discover whether TikTok is breaking the law by advertising its platform to young people.
According to government officials and child-safety campaigners, TikTok's computer algorithms that push video material to users can promote eating disorders, self-harm, and suicide in young viewers.
TikTok has stated that it aims on providing age-appropriate experiences, adding that certain services, such as direct messaging, are not available to younger users. The firm claims to have mechanisms in place, such as screen-time management, to assist young people and parents in controlling how much time their children spend on the app and what they view.
"We are passionately committed to creating an experience that promotes and protects the well-being of our community, and we appreciate that state attorneys general are concentrating on the safety of younger users." "The business announced this on Wednesday.
After government regulators forced TikTok to report how its actions affect children and teens early last year, the site amended its privacy standards for users under the age of 18.
TikTok has faced a storm of criticism from state authorities, federal regulators, consumer groups, and legislators from both parties as its popularity has grown. Republicans have focused particularly on the company's links to China. ByteDance, located in Beijing, owns TikTok.
"TikTok endangers our children's safety, mental health, and well-being," said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the senior Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, at a hearing Tuesday.
A similar alliance of state attorneys general launched a probe into the Instagram photo-sharing app, owned by Facebook parent Meta, and its influence on young people late last year. Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen disclosed internal corporate studies indicating obvious harm to certain teen Instagram users, prompting the move.
President Joe Biden encouraged Congress in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night to strengthen privacy safeguards for children, particularly by prohibiting advertising targeted at them and implementing steps to reduce the promotion of content that contributes to addiction.
TikTok critics have referred to occurrences around the country last autumn in which kids vandalized school restrooms and other equipment and stole supplies — ostensibly in response to a viral TikTok challenge termed "devious licks." Last November, The Wall Street Journal reported that young females were seeking medical attention for the abrupt development of tics such as jerky movements and vocal outbursts; physicians speculated that TikTok videos on Tourette syndrome may be a role.
