Utah sues TikTok for illegally baiting children into 'incredibly dangerous' and 'addictive' algorithm

The state of Utah announced a lawsuit against TikTok for marketing to children what it called a "dangerous" platform that is "intentionally designed" to be addictive. The state also said that TikTok misrepresents itself and its safety.

The lawsuit, announced in a press release, pinpointed three alleged areas of malpractice by TikTok regarding the accusations of addictiveness and dishonesty through its app.

"1. TikTok deployed, continually refined, and marketed an addictive product with design features intended to manipulate children, all while knowing that the product caused harm to these young users — an unconscionable business practice."

Utah's lawsuit claims that TIkTok intentionally designed and deployed an addictive product meant for financial gain and compared its algorithm to a slot machine.

"Like a slot machine, users 'swipe down' on the app to load more videos continuously, each new video requiring only a small investment of their time, and the user is excited for each new video by the possibility that it might be incredibly rewarding," the lawsuit explained. "This pattern keeps users engaged, constantly anticipating that dopamine rush."

Prolonged use could be "incredibly dangerous" to children, the Epoch Times reported, particularly to those who are soon becoming adults.

"2. TikTok misled young users and their parents by representing that its app was safe when it knew it was not — a deceptive business practice."

Utah Governor Spencer Cox noted that social media is affecting the minds of children and said that "it’s time to intervene.”

“We will no longer tolerate TikTok misleading parents that its app is safe for children,” said Cox.

"3. TikTok misled Utah consumers about the degree to which TikTok remains enmeshed with and under the control of ByteDance, its China-based parent company — another deceptive business practice."

The press release stated that there had been leaked documents that suggested there were “key messages” the company wanted to portray to the general public. This included that TikTok should “downplay the parent company ByteDance, [and] downplay the China association.”

On TikTok's own "Transparency" page, it calls itself the "flagship product of ByteDance Ltd." While at the time same time, it noted that "TikTok spans most major markets except China, where ByteDance offers a different short-form video app called Douyin."

TikTok did not respond to the Epoch Times' request for comment. ByteDance did not immediately respond to request for comment from Blaze News. This article will be updated should an official response be provided.

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