TikTok is being sued in the U.S. for alleged 'inappropriate content'
Social media companies are not starting the year on the right foot as another one of the tech companies is facing a lawsuit in the United States. This time around, the State of Iowa is bringing TikTok to court.
Reuters reports that Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed a lawsuit in a state court in Polk County alleges that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance lied about how much drugs, nudity, alcohol, and profanity can be found on the app, thereby exposing children to these inappropriate contents. The lawsuit is asking for TikTok to be slapped with financial penalties and an order to bar it from “engaging in deceptive and unfair conduct.”
In its response to the suit, TikTok claimed that it had “industry leading safeguards in place for young people.” These safeguards include parental controls as well as a time limit (https://www.gmanetwork.com/lifestyle/news/98797/tiktok-to-add-screen-time-limits-for-young-users/story) for users under 18, which it introduced back in March last year.
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This lawsuit against TikTok follows the lawsuit filed by attorneys general of 33 states including California and New York accusing Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, of misleading the public about the dangers of their platforms, alleging that they let young children and teenagers become addicted to social media use.
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Back in May last year, United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released an advisory that called for measures to make social media safer for young people as there is “growing evidence” that social media adversely affects the mental health of young people.
The Surgeon General's report noted that social media has exposed teenagers to “extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content” that can “normalize” self-harm and suicide. These can lead to teenagers dissatisfied with their bodies, expose them to online bullying, and cause depression and eating disorders.
I issued a new Advisory on the urgent need to make social media safer for young people. Growing evidence shows social media can be associated with #MentalHealth harms, and it's time we take action to protect the health and well-being of our youth. https://t.co/SUnM8QmZBn
-- Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) May 23, 2023
In 2022, the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports published a study that showed that social media could play a role in teens developing depression, no matter their personality beforehand.
