Utah sues TikTok for using 'manipulative tactics' to hook young children and exploit them

The US state of Utah has sued the short video format application TikTok. It accusedthe Chinese-owned app of harming and "exploiting" young children by intentionally making them spend unhealthy amounts of time on the platform.

The suit filed on Tuesday (Oct 10th) is only the latest action challenging the popular app in the United States. Indiana and Arkansas had launched similar lawsuits against the video-sharing platform earlier.

Compulsion, exploitation and more

Utah's suit has been filed in the state court. It alleges that videos on TikTok leverage "highly powerful algorithms and manipulative design features — many of which mimic features of slot machines" and claims that as a result of these "manipulative" tactics, young consumers get hooked.

Reuters reports that in the filing, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said: "What these children (and their parents) do not know is that TikTok is lying to them about the safety of its app and exploiting them into checking and watching the app compulsively, no matter the terrible effects it has on their mental health, their physical development, their family, and their social life."

What action is Utah seeking?

As per Reyes, Utah's investigation into TikTok is ongoing. The Utah Attorney General, as per Reuters, also said that he will next week ask a court to compel TikTok's compliance with investigative subpoenas.

Utah, according to the report, is seeking civil penalties and an injunction that will prohibit TikTok from violating a consumer protection state law which shields them from deceptive business practices.

Responding to the suit, TikTok said that it "has industry-leading safeguards for young people, including an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18 and parental controls for teen accounts."

TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, a China-based company, has more than 150 million users in the US.

The company is already facing multiple lawsuits across the US. Last year, a group of Republican lawmakers had alleged that "many children are exposed to non-stop offerings of inappropriate content that TikTok’s algorithm force-feeds to them."

In December, Indiana sued the app. The case is pending in the state court. Arkansas launched its suit in March. The case that also involves Facebook-parent Meta accuses the social media companies of "pushing addictive platforms."

The state of Montana went one step further and banned the use of the app in the state. However, TikTok is seeking to block the ban which takes effect on Jan 1st. A hearing of the lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday (Oct12).

(With inputs from agencies)

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