The lawsuits were filed in 13 states and Washington, D.C., and will proceed separately in state courts since each relies on state-specific consumer protection laws, NPR reported.
Taken together, the complaints allege TikTok is driving a youth mental health crisis in the U.S. through features meant to maximize young people’s time on the platform. Specifically, the lawsuits target TikTok’s highly personalized algorithm, beauty filters, endless scroll and other features.
“Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the coalition alongside California Attorney General Rob Bonta, said in a news release. “TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true. In New York and across the country, young people have died or gotten injured doing dangerous TikTok challenges and many more are feeling sad, anxious and depressed because of TikTok’s addictive features.”
TikTok says allegations in the lawsuits are misleading, citing safety features it has implemented.
In a statement to NPR, a spokesperson for the social media platform said, “We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screen time limits, family pairing and privacy by default for minors under 16.”
TikTok has around 170 million monthly active users in the U.S., the platform’s CEO said in January. More than 60% of teens ages 13-17 report using TikTok, according to a Pew Research survey conducted in late 2023.
Social media platforms such as TikTok have increasingly become the target of lawsuits and campaigns aimed at addressing youth mental health concerns. The U.S. surgeon general has issued warnings about the detrimental effects of social media on young people’s mental health, emphasizing the urgent need for greater safeguards.
