Recent unredacted documents show that TikTok executives knew their app was negatively hurting teens.
This is according to faulty redactions in the lawsuit filed by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office. TikTok is currently sued by more than a dozen states in the U.S. over how it negatively impacts minors – as a potential ban looms.
Internal documents from TikTok’s research revealed that the social network wasn’t concerned with how the app harmed teens. The unredacted material from the lawsuit shows its executives openly discussing the various risks for teens on TikTok. The internal communications and studies even showed proposed measures such as time management tools to reduce screen time minimally. TikTok still went ahead and released these features to garner public confidence through media coverage instead of actually aiming to reduce app usage.
The internal documents also disclose that it takes 260 videos for someone to form a habit after which then a user will potentially become addicted to the platform. TikTok’s own research even indicates that compulsive usage of its app is linked to various mental health impacts such as reduced analytical skills, memory formation, empathy, conversational depth, and heightened anxiety. The documents also add that recessive use of the app hindered important personal responsibilities like adequate sleep, connecting with loved ones, and work/school commitments.
The documents also show that TikTok assessed the effectiveness of its time management tool based on its impact on public trust in the platform through media coverage, instead of its impact on reducing teens’ app usage. The platform has publicized it “break” videos so users can take a break from endless scrolling on the app but the company doesn’t believe on the effectiveness of these videos with one executive saying that they are only “useful as a talking point” with policymakers.
This multistate litigation against TikTok has also come under attack from tech critics who feel that state lawmakers should also focus on how other engagement-based social networks are just as addictive such as Instagram, Facebook, and X.
I absolutely believe this is true, but when people talk about TikTok exclusively being the issue and not all social media you need to put some thought into why exactly that is. https://t.co/5gosdYs20G
— kay but spooky (@kaytaylorrea) October 11, 2024
TikTok gets a lot of the attention, but it seems worth noting that other major social media platforms have mimicked their approach https://t.co/7KOjC9mdaO
— Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) October 11, 2024
Ok, but this is true for all engagement-based social media. Instagram, Facebook, Xitter, TikTok. It's ridiculous for lawmakers to pretend this is only a Tiktok problem. But pissing off Elon and the boomers on FB would be more politically costly than pissing off gen Z
— Matt Macellaio (@flytrikeair) October 11, 2024
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