Tiktok's countless lawsuits were joined by Utah when it filed on Tuesday a suit concerning its deception to make "young consumers... hooked," Reuters reports.
The Utah claim is the latest lawsuit challenging the popular software in the United States.
The suit is accused of endangering children by purposely keeping young users on the short-video-sharing platform for excessive time.
(Photo : Mourizal Zativa from Unsplash)
Indonesia became the latest country to ban e-commerce transactions on social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook
Utah's Attorney General Sean Reyes reportedly filed the lawsuit, claiming that TikTok is lying to them about the "safety of its app" through exploitation of its users via compulsive app watching and checking despite the terrible effects it has on the many aspects of their lives.
According to Reuters, Utah's state court action, the videos use incredibly strong algorithms and manipulative design elements, many of which imitate characteristics of slot machines. As a result of these manipulative methods, young customers get addicted.
TikTok responded to the action by saying it had industry-leading precautions for young people, such as an automatic 60-minute time restriction for users under 18 and parental controls for adolescent accounts.
TikTok's Lawsuits
TikTok has already been sued with similar lawsuits by Indiana and Arkansas, according to the report. At the same time, it has also been sued countless times for different reasons.
Indiana's lawsuit last December 2022 described Tiktok as "a wolf in sheep's clothing," in one of its court documents, as reported by BBC.
TikTok was claimed to have an algorithm that encourages "depicting alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; sexual content, nudity, and suggestive themes; and intense profanity," with its age rating on different app stores also drawing scrutiny.
Read Also: Montana Seeks Judge Approval to Ban TikTok Amid Legal Challenge
Indiana's Lawsuit has since then been pending in state court.
TikTok Banning
Concerns other than children's well-being have also been questioned by multiple lawsuits regarding the app when Forbes reported how 15+ lawsuits claimed it violated the Federal Wiretap Act.
TikTok allegedly had access to any private information that the user entered on a third-party website through in-app browser use without the user's knowledge.
The report states that questionable engagement practices of users have been monitored by Tiktok, specifically their keystrokes or a single press of any virtual button. A measure that Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat do not have.
The company previously confirmed the presence of the questionable measures and code when it reportedly said functionalities are present in the app's source code; however, the corporation does not monitor users.
The code parts are solely used for debugging, troubleshooting, and performance monitoring. According to TikTok's privacy policies, the firm gathers "certain information" about its users' devices, such as typing patterns or rhythms.
With the various lawsuits, banning Tiktok within Congress has been discussed by various US senators, as reported by Forbes when Senator Michael Bennet called for it to be removed from Google and Apple App Stores.
Bennet's concern stemmed from Tiktok's requirement from Chinese Law to "support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work."
Related Article: TikTok Ban in the US: Half of Americans Wants the Social Media Gone in the Country, As Per a Survey
