TikTok is sued by Utah for ``misleading users about safety and harming children with addictive app design''

The US state of Utah has accused TikTok of misleading users about its relationship with its parent company in China and harming children with its addictive app design. He filed a lawsuit seeking compensation and a change in practices.

Utah Attorney General @SeanReyesUT and @GovCox have announced that the state of Utah is suing TikTok. The innocence of our children is under attack and the AG's office is taking legal action to counter this growing threat. pic.twitter.com/XmGCxpRZaj

— Utah Attorney General (@UtahAG) October 10, 2023

Utah lawsuit accuses TikTok of knowingly getting hooked on harmful content
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/utah-lawsuit-tiktok-children-health-rcna119818

Utah sues TikTok, claiming app has harmful impact on children | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/utah-sues-tiktok-over-impact-app-children-2023-10-10/

Utah sues TikTok, alleging it lures children into addictive and destructive social media habits | South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3237505/utah-sues-tiktok-alleging-it-lures-children-addictive-and-destructive-social-media-habits

TikTok is a social networking service developed and operated by ByteDance , a technology company based in China, and the US government has long banned TikTok due to security concerns that the data it collects may be shared with Chinese authorities. We have been working on regulations. In March 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill that would ban the use of TikTok on government devices.

Efforts to regulate TikTok are underway not only in the U.S. government but also in individual states, with New Jersey and Ohio in January 2023 and New York City in August 2023. It has been decided to ban the use of TikTok.

In addition, the state of Montana has enacted a bill that completely prohibits the use of TikTok not only by public institutions but also by general users, and is scheduled to go into effect from January 1, 2024. The bill would ban the downloading of TikTok within the state and impose fines of $10,000 (approximately 1.5 million yen) per day on entities that provide the ability to access TikTok or download the app. It is expected that he will be punished.

'TikTok Prohibition Law' passed in Montana, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024 - GIGAZINE

At the same time as efforts to ban the use of TikTok progress, some states have also filed lawsuits against TikTok. The states of Arkansas and Indiana have already filed lawsuits against TikTok, but in October 2023, the state of Utah filed a lawsuit against TikTok.

'TikTok misled consumers that it was independent from China's ByteDance,' Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a complaint filed in state court. ),'' and ``deployed and sold an addictive app designed to manipulate children,'' and expressed the view that TikTok violated consumer protection laws in these respects. I am.

'TikTok has designed and employed an algorithm that feeds kids an endless stream of highly curated content that they have a hard time breaking out of,' Reyes said at a press conference. 'We designed these features to imitate the cruel slot machines that keep people hooked,' he said, arguing that TikTok's app design is dangerously addictive.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said, ``Social media companies are illegally guiding children into addictive and unhealthy use of their platforms,'' and this lawsuit is aimed at protecting children. I believe it belongs to.

Social media companies are illegally baiting our children into addictive and unhealthy use of their platforms. Today we announced a lawsuit against TikTok for that exact reason. This action follows the landmark legislation we signed requiring social media companies to protect…

— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) October 10, 2023

In response to the lawsuit, a TikTok spokesperson said, ``TikTok has industry-leading youth safety measures in place, including an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18 and parental controls for teenagers' accounts.'' We remain committed to keeping our communities safe by addressing industry-wide challenges.'

In the United States, the RESTRICT Act aimed at regulating TikTok was submitted by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, but it has stalled due to concerns about freedom of speech and the impact on general users. Still, moves are being made to regulate TikTok again, with a new alternative bill called the Guard Act being drafted.

Lawmakers shift gears on TikTok ban - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/09/what-happened-to-the-tiktok-ban-00120434