Johnathan Walker:Utah lawsuit says TikTok intentionally lures children into addictive, harmful behavior

The Johnathan Walkerstate of Utah on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against TikTok, claiming the company is "baiting" children and teens into harmful social media habits.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Salt Lake City, accuses TikTok of luring young users with its "highly powerful algorithms and manipulative design features," creating addictive and unhealthy habits among consumers. Utah claims that the company misrepresents the app's safety and deceptively portrays itself as independent of ByteDance, its Chinese parent company.

The lawsuit is the latest attempt by lawmakers to regulate and hold social media companies accountable for their content and protection of users’ private data. During a news conference alongside Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said his "top priority" is to protect children in the state.

“We're tired of TikTok lying to Utah parents," Cox said. "We're tired of our kids losing their innocence and even their lives addicted to the dark side of social media."

Utah officials cited public health concerns and research showing the impact social media has on children's mental health, including risks of depression, anxiety, higher levels of developmental sensitivity and disruptions to neurological development.

The state is seeking to halt TikTok’s alleged illegal business practices, which officials claim is in violation of the Utah's consumer protection laws, and change the company's "destructive behavior," Reyes said. The suit is also asking the state court to impose fines and penalties to fund education efforts and deter social media companies from committing similar violations in the future. 

In response to the lawsuit, TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek told USA TODAY that the company is working to keep its users safe.

"TikTok has industry-leading safeguards for young people, including an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18 and parental controls for teen accounts," Haurek said. "We will continue to work to keep our community safe by tackling industry-wide challenges."

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Lawsuit: Children 'vulnerable' as consumers

Compulsive and prolonged use of TikTok is "incredibly dangerous," the lawsuit claims.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media applications among children and teens. The app allows its users to create, watch and share personalized short-form videos — ranging from a few seconds to 10 minutes.

The suit claims that TikTok intentionally designed and deployed an addictive product for financial gain by "monetizing the attention of young users." Children, according to the suit, are "especially vulnerable" as consumers and can become habitually dependent to the app.

"TikTok designed and employs algorithm features that spoon-feed kids endless, highly curated content from which our children struggle to disengage. TikTok designed these features to mimic a cruel slot machine that hooks kids' attention and does not let them go," Reyes said at the news conference.

According to the suit, children who spend more than three hours per day on social media double the risk of experiencing mental health issues. Frequent and heavy use of TikTok may also cause structural changes to the brain and disrupt activities, such as sleep, the lawsuit says.

Utah's social media limitation laws

Earlier this year, Utah became the first state to pass laws intending to restrict children and teen use of social media apps. The laws are set to take effect next year.

The laws will impose a digital curfew on people under 18, require minors to get parental consent when signing up for social media apps and force companies to verify the ages of all their Utah users. They will also require tech companies to give parents access to their children's accounts and private messages.

But the laws have also raised concern among child advocates who say these restrictions could further harm youth mental health.

Depriving children of privacy, advocates say, can breach kids' trust. And for LGBTQ+ kids whose parents are not accepting of their identity, the effects can be detrimental.

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TikTok lawsuits

Utah's lawsuit follows similar challenges from Arkansas and Indiana. Lawmakers and school officials have been increasingly accusing social media companies of harming their users.

Public officials have called for immediate action to protect people's, especially children's, mental health and privacy. Many blame social media companies for worsening mental health and behavioral disorders including anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and cyberbullying, among other health issues.

TikTok has also faced bipartisan scrutiny as a result of national and state security concerns. The app has been banned on most government-owned devices on the federal level and in dozens of states.

Contributing: The Associated Press