TikTok knew kids faced risks—lawsuit reveals the truth!


Karnataka News


Internal documents and communications revealed in a lawsuit by Kentucky show that TikTok knew its design features harmed young users and that the tools it promoted to limit kids’ screen time were mainly ineffective.

These details are from redacted sections of Kentucky’s lawsuit, which includes internal documents from a two-year investigation by multiple states.

This week, Kentucky filed its lawsuit with complaints from a dozen states and D.C. TikTok faces a lawsuit from the Department of Justice and is counter-suing over a potential U.S. ban by mid-January.

The redacted details, accidentally revealed by Kentucky’s attorney general and reported by Kentucky Public Radio, highlight TikTok’s awareness of young users’ time on the platform and the sincerity of its efforts to reduce excessive usage.

In addition to concerns about TikTok’s impact on minors, the complaint claims that the short-form video app has favored “beautiful people” on its platform and has internally acknowledged that some content moderation metrics it has made public are “largely misleading.”

The unredacted complaint, reviewed by The Associated Press, was sealed by a Kentucky judge on Wednesday after state officials filed an emergency motion for confidentiality.

When contacted for a comment, TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek stated: “It is highly irresponsible of the Associated Press to publish information under a court seal. Unfortunately, this complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and takes outdated documents out of context to misrepresent our commitment to community safety.”

“We have robust safeguards, which include proactively removing suspected underage users, and we have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16,” Haurek said in a prepared statement. “We stand by these efforts.”

The complaint claims TikTok measures how quickly young users become addicted and shares these findings to boost retention. It states that the “habit moment” occurs when users watch 260 videos in their first week, which can take less than 35 minutes because some videos are only 8 seconds long.

Kentucky’s lawsuit also references a spring 2020 presentation from TikTok, which indicated that the platform had already “hit a ceiling” with young users. At that time, the company estimated that at least 95% of smartphone users under 17 were using TikTok at least once a month, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, TikTok tracks metrics for young users, like viewing duration and daily active users, to improve its algorithm, which customizes content and boosts engagement.

TikTok conducts its internal research to assess how the platform affects its users. The lawsuit mentions a group within the company known as “TikTank,” which highlighted in an internal report that compulsive usage was “rampant” on the platform. Additionally, it includes a quote from an unnamed executive who stated that kids use TikTok because the algorithm is “really good.”

“But I think we need to be cognizant of what it might mean for other opportunities. And when I say other opportunities, I literally mean sleep, and eating, and moving around the room, and looking at somebody in the eyes,” the complaint states, as noted by the unnamed executive.

TikTok implemented a 60-minute daily screen time limit for minors in March 2023 to help teens manage their time. However, Kentucky’s complaint argues that this limit, which users can easily bypass, was more a PR tactic than a real effort to protect young users.

The lawsuit claims TikTok assessed the time limit’s effectiveness not by its impact on teens’ usage but through other metrics, including “improving public trust in the TikTok platform via media coverage.”

The lawsuit stated that reducing screen time among teens was not considered a success metric. It claimed that the company intended to “revisit the design” of the feature if it led to a decrease in TikTok usage among teens by more than 10%.

The complaint states TikTok found that time-limit prompts only reduced teens’ average app usage by 1.5 minutes, from 108.5 to 107 minutes per day. Kentucky officials claim TikTok didn’t try to improve the feature’s effectiveness, suggesting this lack of impact was intentional.

The complaint states that a TikTok executive named Zhu Wenjia approved the feature only if it had a minimal impact on TikTok’s “core metrics.”

Kentucky Lawsuit Uncovers TikTok’s Controversial Practices: Algorithm Bias and Content Moderation Issues

TikTok CEO Shou Chew have discussed time management tools like break videos. Still, an executive stated in a meeting that these videos are “useful” talking points but “not altogether effective.”

Kentucky claims TikTok’s algorithm has “prioritized beautiful people,” despite the company’s awareness that this could “perpetuate a narrow beauty norm.”

The complaint asserts that TikTok adjusted its algorithm after an internal report highlighted that the app featured a significant “volume of … not attractive subjects” in the main “For You” feed.

“By changing the TikTok algorithm to show fewer ‘not attractive subjects’ in the For You feed, Defendants took active steps to promote a narrow beauty norm even though it could negatively impact their young users,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit also targets TikTok’s content moderation practices.

It references internal communications in which the company acknowledges that its moderation metrics are “largely misleading” because “we are good at moderating the content we capture, but these metrics do not account for the content that we miss.”

The complaint states that TikTok is aware of significant “leakage” rates—content that violates community guidelines but isn’t moderated or removed—though it does not disclose this information. Other social media platforms face similar problems.

According to the complaint, TikTok’s “leakage” rates consist of about 36% of content that normalizes pedophilia and 50% of content that glorifies sexual assault against minors.

The lawsuit claims the company misled the public about moderation and allowed “high-value” creators to post guideline-violating content.

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