More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia sued TikTok on Tuesday, alleging the platform exploits and harms young users while “deceiving” the public about these dangers.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James led the coalition of 14 attorneys general, who each filed suits in state court over violations of state consumer protection laws.
Bonta said a national investigation into TikTok found that the platform “cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits.”
The investigation was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from various states including New Jersey, California, North Carolina and Kentucky.
“TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defenses or capacity to create healthy boundaries around addictive content,” Bonta wrote.
“When we look at the youth mental health crisis and the revenue machine TikTok has created, fueled by the time and attention of our young people, it’s devastatingly obvious: Our children and teens never stood a chance against these social media behemoths,” he continued.