SEATTLE — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing TikTok and accusing its developers of creating an app that is addictive to young people.
Ferguson’s lawsuit is part of a larger, nationwide effort with 14 other state attorney generals filing lawsuits against the app.
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The Washington lawsuit claims TikTok violated the state Consumer Protection Act by targeting youth with features that encourage compulsive and excessive use.
Ferguson also included in his lawsuit civil penalties of up to $12,500 per violation under the Washington Consumer Protection Act.
Pew research found that 63% of the teens in the study use TikTok daily, with 17% of those teens saying they use TikTok “almost constantly.”
Ferguson’s complaint states TikTok doesn’t have proper protections for young users. TikTok states on its website that in the United States, it does not allow content that could put young people at risk of “psychological, physical or developmental harm.”
UC Davis researchers say social media use can increase feelings of anxiety and depression, especially in teens and young adults.
Ferguson is also requesting material marked confidential by TikTok be unsealed.
“I am one of the millions of parents across Washington who knows firsthand the hold TikTok and other social media apps have on kids,” Ferguson said. “TikTok is deceiving young people and their parents when it claims to look out for the safety of young users. Platforms like TikTok must be reformed and we know they are unwilling to do so on their own.”
One of the points of concern for the lawsuit focuses on endless scrolling. Ferguson says this encourages people to spend more time on the app and makes it more difficult for teens to move on to new activities.
It also brings up how TikTok’s “Kids Mode” allows users under the age of 13 to use the app with limited services. Ferguson said many children know how to bypass these age restrictions and says “under-13 users are incentivized to and routinely supply a false date of birth to access the full TikTok experience.”
Other attorney generals who filed lawsuits against TikTok this week include California, Oregon, New York and the District of Columbia.
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