States sue TikTok over claims it's addictive, harmful to children

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FILE - This photograph taken on April 19, 2024 shows a man holding a smartphone displaying the logo of Chinese social media platform TikTok. (Photo by Antonin Utz/AFP via Getty Images)

Several states have filed a lawsuit against TikTok on Tuesday, claiming its platform is addictive and harms the mental health of children.

The lawsuit comes as TikTok is already under fire in the U.S. for other legal reasons, and other social media apps are under scrutiny for their effects on the livelihood of teen and child users as well.

Here’s what to know about the lawsuits filed Tuesday:

TikTok lawsuit

The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states. All the complaints were filed in state courts.

At the heart of each lawsuit is the TikTok algorithm, which powers the tailored content users see when they go on the app by populating its main "For You" feed.

The lawsuits also emphasize design features that they say make children addicted to the platform, such as the ability to scroll endlessly through content, push notifications that come with built-in "buzzes" and face filters that create unattainable appearances for users.

Keeping people on the platform is "how they generate massive ad revenue," District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in an interview. "But unfortunately, that's also how they generate adverse mental health impacts on the users."

TikTok does not allow children under 13 to sign up for its main service and restricts some content for everyone under 18, but the lawsuits claim children can easily bypass those restrictions.

Which states sued TikTok?

Some of the states included in the most recent filing on Oct. 8, 2024, include California, Kentucky, New Jersey, Washington, and Washington, D.C.

Many states have previously filed lawsuits against TikTok and other tech companies as scrutiny grows on social media platforms and their impact on young people’s lives. In some cases, the challenges have been coordinated in a way that resembles how states previously organized against the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.

Other social media under fire

Legal challenges have been brought against several other tech companies and social media platforms, including YouTube and Meta.

Meta owns Facebook and Instagram and is being sued by dozens of states over allegations its harming young people’s mental health.

Meta has been making various changes on its platforms that it says address teen safety issues.

Why does the U.S. want to ban TikTok?

TikTok is already facing other challenges at the national level and could be banned from the U.S. by mid-January if its China-based parent company ByteDance doesn't sell the platform by then.

TikTok first launched in China in 2016 before going worldwide in 2018. It has since skyrocketed in popularity but not without growing scrutiny.

The platform continues to face growing privacy concerns that have led to bans of the app on government devices and even statewide bans.

Ever since its unveiling worldwide, TikTok has had to fend off claims that ByteDance shares data with the Chinese government, and that its proprietary algorithm is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities.

Currently, TikTok and ByteDance are challenging the U.S. law passed in April that is forcing them to break ties by mid-January or face a ban in the U.S., one of their biggest markets in the world.