Current:Home > MarketsNebraska sues TikTok for allegedly targeting minors with "addictive design" and "fueling a youth mental health crisis"-InfoLens
Nebraska sues TikTok for allegedly targeting minors with "addictive design" and "fueling a youth mental health crisis"
View Date:2024-12-23 23:18:05
Nebraska is suing social media giant TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, claiming the platform targets minors with "addictive design" and is "fueling a youth mental health crisis."
"TikTok has shown no regard for the wreckage its exploitative algorithm is leaving behind," Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in a statement.
The lawsuit, filed in state court Wednesday, claims the platform engages in "deceptive and unfair trade practices" by claiming it is "family-friendly" and "safe for young users."
The lawsuit alleges TikTok does not adhere to its own Community Guidelines, which states the platform does not allow "content that may put young people at risk." The platform has also spent millions on advertising stating it's suitable for young people, the complaint alleges, and representatives of TikTok have testified repeatedly the company monitors for harmful content and removes content that risks harm to minors or otherwise violates the Community Guidelines.
But the lawsuit alleges the opposite is true and that teens and children are shown inappropriate content based on the platform's algorithm and "addictive design."
As part of its investigation, Nebraska created TikTok accounts for fictitious minor users registered as 13, 15, and 17 years old, the lawsuit said. Within minutes, the lawsuit claims, the teen users were directed to inappropriate content by the TikTok algorithm, including videos described in graphic detail in the lawsuit as simulating sexual acts and encouraging eating disorders.
Much of the content pushed to minors is encouraged by the "For You" feed, the lawsuit claims, which shows users the alleged inappropriate content without them searching for similar videos. Instead, the video just pops into minors' feeds uninvited, the lawsuit claims.
Hilgers said kids are shown "inappropriate content, ranging from videos that encourage suicidal ideation and fuel depression, drive body image issues, and encourage eating disorders to those that encourage drug use and sexual content wildly inappropriate for young kids."
These interactions have fueled "a youth mental health crisis in Nebraska," the lawsuit said.
TikTok refutes the allegations.
"TikTok has industry-leading safeguards to support teens' well-being, including age-restricted features, parental controls, an automatic 60-minute time limit for people under 18, and more. We will continue working to address these industry-wide concerns," a company spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
Nebraska's lawsuit comes as TikTok battles the U.S. government over recent legislation requiring the platform to cut ties with its China-based owner within a year or be effectively banned from the United States.
TikTok said in a lawsuit filed earlier this month that banning the popular social media platform would violate the First Amendment rights of its users. Eight TikToker users — with millions of followers between them — filed a similar suit against the federal government last week.
More than 30 states and the federal government have banned the app on state- or government-issued devices. Montana became the first state to ban the app last May, a few months later a federal judge overturned the ruling, in part because the ban "infringes on the Constitutional rights of users and businesses."
— Melissa Quinn and C. Mandler contributed reporting.
- In:
- Nebraska
- TikTok
- ByteDance
Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]
veryGood! (23721)
Related
- A crowd of strangers brought 613 cakes and then set out to eat them
- Maldives leader demands removal of Indian military from the archipelago by mid-March amid spat
- What we know so far about Kalen DeBoer's deal with Alabama
- Starting Five: The top women's college basketball games this weekend feature Iowa vs. Indiana
- New 'Yellowstone' is here: Season 5 Part 2 premiere date, time, where to watch
- Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes has helmet shattered during playoff game vs. Miami
- U.K. archaeologists uncover ancient grave holding teen girl, child and treasures: Striking discovery
- Michigan man kept playing the same lottery numbers. Then he finally matched all 5 and won.
- John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
- Crypto's Nazi problem: With few rules to stop them, white supremacists fundraise for hate
Ranking
- Mississippi governor intent on income tax cut even if states receive less federal money
- Demonstrations against the far right held in Germany following a report on a deportation meeting
- In Iowa, GOP presidential candidates concerned about impact of freezing temperatures on caucus turnout
- A huge fire engulfs a warehouse in Russia outside the city of St Petersburg
- Opinion: Chris Wallace leaves CNN to go 'where the action' is. Why it matters
- Nick Saban will be in Kalen DeBoer's ear at Alabama. And that's OK | Opinion
- Tom Shales, longtime TV critic, dies at 79
- Oklahoma City-area hit by 4.1-magnitude earthquake Saturday, one of several in Oklahoma
Recommendation
-
Groups seek a new hearing on a Mississippi mail-in ballot lawsuit
-
Coronavirus FAQ: Are we in a surge? How do you cope if your whole family catches it?
-
In Ecuador, the global reach of Mexico’s warring drug cartels fuels a national crisis
-
Indian Ocean island of Reunion braces for ‘very dangerous’ storm packing hurricane-strength winds
-
Prosecutor failed to show that Musk’s $1M-a-day sweepstakes was an illegal lottery, judge says
-
US military academies focus on oaths and loyalty to Constitution as political divisions intensify
-
Thousands at Saturday 'March for Gaza' in Washington DC call for Israel-Hamas cease-fire
-
A Japanese domestic flight returns to airport with crack on a cockpit window. No injuries reported.