A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country allege that the company uses addictive features to hook children to the app and that it has intentionally misled the public about the safety of prolonged use.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James said young people across the country had died or been injured doing TikTok “challenges” and many others were feeling “more sad, anxious and depressed because of TikTok’s addictive features”.
She cited a 15-year-old boy, who died in Manhattan while “subway surfing” - riding on top of a moving subway car. His mother later found TikTok videos of such activity on his phone, she said.
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Regulators have launched similar cases against Facebook and Instagram for their impact on young people’s mental health.
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The Federal Trade Commission, a government watchdog, accused TikTok in August of violating child privacy laws.
The effect (purpose?) of moral panics is to maintain the status quo, scapegoating age old problems as new because there’s a new aspect.
Anyone focusing on social media or phones as the main problem kids and teens are facing today is part of the problem, whether or not it’s intentional.