The state of Hawaii sued ByteDance Inc. on Wednesday, accusing the parent company of TikTok of developing the popular video-sharing app to be intentionally and covertly addictive to young viewers and misled the public about potential harms as it staked out a lucrative business in collecting their personal data.
The 106-page complaint, filed in the First Circuit of Hawaii, says that TikTok’s business model is predicated on coercing young users to stay focused on its platform and that programmers have devised it to be as addictive as possible for the more than 150 million American users.
(The “For You” feed, endless scroll, autoplay, push notifications and likes are all features designed to keep users on the app for as long as possible, and every additional minute spent on the app means more personal data collected and more ad revenue earned by TikTok,) said Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez.
The features are also designed to impact users’ neurobiology, particularly the production of dopamine, in ways used by the gambling industry as well, inviting a further comparison between gaming and drugs with respect to the intended purpose product designers have for cultivating billions of addicted users.
Hawaii sues TikTok parent company ByteDance, claims app harms children | Alexandra Koch, Fox Business
Hawaii claims ByteDance designed platform to manipulate dopamine production, similar to gambling industry tactics
The state of Hawaii filed a lawsuit Wednesday against… pic.twitter.com/rDP3BuWhAA
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Although the addictive practices harm all users, attorneys argue that children are especially susceptible because they are less capable of regulating their own screen time.
A large portion of TikTok’s user base is under 18, and too many girls have been subject to inappropriate contact by adults on the service, it alleged in the complaint, adding that internal records posted millions of users who were younger than 13.
The app has been sued twice by the U.S. government for breaching COPPA, but lawyers say it still has not warned children, parents or the public about potential risks and is misleading people on what kind of app it really is and how safe it is to use.
The state is also accusing TikTok of still having inadequate age verification and child protection systems — and actually seeking to exploit children for profit.
“For months, we have known that TikTok was being used to spread school violence threats and disinformation about vaccines, and had become used by criminal actors who took those physical crimes into our communities,” they wrote one month ago. This lawsuit is driven by a fierce commitment to the safety and security of our community. ” We have a responsibility to our families to speak out, and that the right reforms are put in place so our communities aren’t taken advantage of,” Lopez said in a statement.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said that TikTok has been designed in a way that “addiction and anxiety thrive.”
“As leaders, it is our responsibility to protect the youth in Georgia from those that seek profit over their health,” Green said in a statement. “This lawsuit is a critical step in ensuring that TikTok is held accountable for the harms it inflicts and to make sure that our children can use technology without fear,” she said.
The state’s move looks to prevent TikTok from continuing to use harmful and deceptive practices, demand meaningful protections for children and gain assurance that the company truthfully communicates risks related to its service.
In a statement to FOX Business, TikTok said the lawsuit “relies on meritless claims and misguided theories.” “The Company is committed to promoting a safe and positive app environment for our community,” the company added.
“Over the last seven years, as we’ve launched and scaled TikTok by adding tens of millions of users in dozens of languages and regions around the world, we have implemented comprehensive changes to our products, policies and systems ’’ including spending billions of dollars on Trust & Safety “to keep people safe,” a spokesman for TikTok wrote in an email.
The law firms of Starn OʻToole Marcus and Fisher and Keller Rohrback L.L.P have been engaged to act as special deputy attorneys general in the action.
