TikTok's impact on its children users is now being investigated by a group of attorney generals from various states, the California AG announced.
An Indian mobile user browses through the Chinese owned video-sharing 'Tik Tok' app on a smartphone in Bangalore on June 30, 2020. - TikTok on June 30 denied sharing information on Indian users with the Chinese government, after New Delhi banned the wildly popular app citing national security and privacy concerns.
As per a news story by Engadget, the investigation by the group of AGs is looking into the risks that the short-form video sharing platform brings to its young users.
TikTok's Impact on Children Investigation
It is worth noting that the same group also looked into the effects of another social media platform, Meta's Instagram, way back in November. It further investigated the harmful effects of the service on its teenage users.
This time around, the group of AGs, which were from various states, such as New Jersey, Tennessee, Vermont, Kentucky, Florida, Nebraska, California, and Massachusetts, is investigating the Chinese social media app, TikTok.
Engadget noted that the investigation seeks to investigate if both Instagram and TikTok are risking their users. On top of that, it also looks into if the two social media giants are breaking any consumer protection laws.
Indian mobile users browses through the Chinese owned video-sharing 'Tik Tok' app on a smartphones in Amritsar on June 30, 2020. - TikTok on June 30 denied sharing information on Indian users with the Chinese government, after New Delhi banned the wildly popular app citing national security and privacy concerns. "TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese Government," said the company, which is owned by China's ByteDance.
In a joint statement, the AGs said that it is specifically investigating TikTok "for providing and promoting its social media platform to child and young adults."
What's more, the AGs also said that they are looking at the harm that social media platforms provide to its younger users, as well as the knowledge of TikTok regarding it.
Meanwhile, according to a recent story by the Los Angeles Times, the Attorney General of California, Rob Bonta, said in a statement that the nationwide investigation will help the various AGs to know if ever TikTok is breaking any law as it promotes its platform to young minds.
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TikTok and Young Minds
Although TikTok caters to various ages, which includes young minds, its spokesperson told Engadget that it is limiting some of its features depending on the age of its users.
On top of that, the spokesperson of TikTok also boasted that the social media platform provides tools for parents, which gives them control over the account of their kids.
The "Family Pairing'' feature of TikTok allows parents to limit the screen time of their children, as well as block content on their accounts.
Despite that, the Federal Trade Commission previously fined the social media platform a whopping $5.7 million for violating the child privacy rules.
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Written by Teejay Boris
