Why are 14 US states filing a class action lawsuit against TikTok?
Republican and Democratic prosecutors are suing TikTok and launching a new legal battle against the Chinese app for allegedly causing damage to mental health.
The war between the United States and TikTok is far from over. A coalition of 14 prosecutors representing 14 states in the U.S. has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Chinese app for allegedly creating addiction and damaging the mental health of minors.
These claims refer to elements such as the endless content feed in the “For You” section or the “shorts” that encourage users to carry out challenges that often represent risky situations not only for the user’s mental health, but also their physical health. Added to this is the night-time automatic notification system, which is accused of harming children’s sleep.
New battle in the US-TikTok war
“TikTok claims to be safe for young people, but that is far from the truth. Across the country, young people have died or been injured while doing some of its challenges, and many more are feeling sad, anxious and depressed because of the addictive qualities of the app,” said Letitia James, Attorney General of New York.
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Meanwhile, the use of filters and effects to make shorts more polished or to make creators appear more attractive than they really are is also being questioned.
“These encourage young people to alter their image and imitate plastic surgery and harbor unrealistic standards of beauty, creating dysmorphic disorders that impact self-esteem and induce negative thoughts about their body image,” says the lawsuit.
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“TikTok is specifically targeting children because it knows that children do not have the defenses or ability to create healthy boundaries around addictive content,” said California State Attorney General Rob Bonta.
“Our children and teenagers don’t stand a chance against these social media giants. TikTok must be held accountable for the harm it has done by taking time away from our childhood,” Bonta said.
The lawsuit is based on an investigation carried out two years ago into a social media application that reached a whopping 150 million users per month in the United States in 2023. The 14 prosecutors are composed of Democrats and Republicans.