[ad_1]
A bipartisan group of attorneys general announced it had opened on Wednesday. Investigate TikTok and the potential harm the popular social media app can do to younger users.
At least eight states are investigating whether the design and promotion of TikTok contributes to physical and mental health harms for teens and young adults, and whether the company violates state consumer protection laws. The review of TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, looks like this: Facebook inquiry That the coalition of attorneys general launched last November. (Facebook’s parent company has been renamed Meta.)
The states administered by Massachusetts, Nebraska, and California are exploring how TikTok is trying to increase engagement and keep young users hooked on the app.
“As children and teenagers are already grappling with anxiety, social pressure and depression, we cannot allow social media to further harm their physical and mental health,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. “State attorneys have an imperative to look for more information about protecting young people and how companies like TikTok affect their daily lives.”
TikTok said it has implemented security and privacy measures to protect young users.
“We are deeply committed to creating an experience that helps protect and support the well-being of our community, and we appreciate the state attorneys’ focus on the safety of young users,” the company said in a statement.
The issue of online child safety has come to the fore in Washington, and social media companies have come under intense scrutiny for their potential harm to children and teenagers. Internal documents leaked from a company Facebook whistleblower Last year, it was revealed that the company discovered that some young Instagram users felt worse about themselves and their body images after using the app.
Several members of Congress last year’s hearings On the issue of children’s online safety, they said they’ve heard from families that teenage girls are being referred to harmful content on Instagram that contributes to eating disorders and self-harm. Since then, lawmakers have introduced several bills aimed at blocking child-targeted ads and preventing social media companies from tracking data about young users.
during its Union address On Tuesday, President Biden called for privacy and other regulatory protections for online youth and said, “We must hold social media accountable for the national experiment they are running on our children for profit.”
[ad_2]
Source link