TikTok is defrauding and deceiving children by exploiting their developing brains, according to a lawsuit filed against the video sharing platform by Minnesota’s attorney general.
Following the lead of at least a dozen other states and the District of Columbia, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued the social media company over claims that it intentionally causes minors to become habitually dependent on its platform and contributes to a decline in their mental health.
In a redacted 96-page complaint that makes similar allegations to those filed by other states, Ellison accused TikTok of deliberately taking advantage of children’s underdeveloped “neurological reward systems” that it says drive desire and motivation.
“Children’s developing brains are no match for TikTok’s sophisticated mix of ‘digital nicotine’ and deception,” the lawsuit states.
A spokesperson for TikTok said the lawsuit is based on “misleading and inaccurate claims” that fail to recognize its robust safety measures.
“Teen accounts on TikTok come with 50+ features and settings designed to help young people safely express themselves, discover and learn. Through our Family Pairing tool, parents can view or customize 20+ content and privacy settings, including screen time, content filters, and our time away feature to pause a teen’s access to our app.”
According to the complaint, TikTok’s addictive features help it collect highly personal data about its minor users, including their location, interest, beliefs, and viewing or purchasing habits — which it then uses to keep them on the platform, where it can sell highly targeted advertising space.
Minnesota’s complaint alleges violations of Minnesota’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, and Money Transmission Act. It asks for a judge to fine the company up to $25,000 for each alleged violation and permanently block TikTok from engaging in the allegedly harmful activities.
A consolidated group of similar claims brought by parents of minor TikTok users is also pending in a federal multi-district litigation in California.
The specific features identified as additive in Minnesota’s complaint include its recommendation engine, which draws upon a user’s unique data to serve personalized content, as well as its infinite scroll feature, push notifications, and image-distorting filters.
The lawsuit also targets TikTok LIVE for use of a virtual currency system it calls unlicensed and says it leads children to make impulsive purchases.
TikTok sells icon-based virtual currency to its users, which can be sent as gifts to live streaming users, then converted to real currency. TikTok takes a cut of the transactions, which netted the company $1.7 billion during one quarter in 2023, the suit claims.
TikTok’s age verification feature, meant to shield adult content from minors, is lax, ineffective, and its content moderation disorganized, the lawsuit states. It claims that hundreds of thousands of children bypass TikTok’s verification system. “TikTok profited significantly from ‘transactional gifting’ involving nudity and sexual activity, all facilitated by TikTok’s virtual currency system,” the lawsuit alleges.
The AG also says that TikTok publicly misstates that its platform is safe and buries information about the complexities and risks of its features.
TikTok’s very existence in the US has been under fluctuating pressure over the past year and a half.
President Biden in April last year signed into law a ban of TikTok on US soil that was set to go into effect in January, unless the app’s owner ByteDance were to divest to a US buyer or a buyer subject to the laws of a US ally.
In an executive order, President Trump delayed enforcement of that law multiple times to allow TikTok to continue operating in the US while prospective buyers and TikTok negotiated a divestment agreement.
The most recent deadline under the amended order extends the deadline to Sept. 17.
The Information reported in July that TikTok was developing a new US version of the social media app in the hopes that a different version could avoid a nationwide ban or forced sale. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the president launched a White House TikTok account.
Various investors have expressed interest in buying the app, which was recently valued at $50 billion, including Oracle (ORCL) co-founder Larry Ellison, Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Perplexity AI (PEAI.PVT), Blackstone (BX), and a group of investors led by former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
In a ruling in January, the US Supreme Court sided with Congress over TikTok in a challenge to the ban, holding that Congress did in fact have authority to enact the law on national security grounds.