TikTok is once again needing to dodge bullets in the US as a new investigation into the impacts some of its content can have on the mental health and wellbeing of its younger users was lobbied by US attorney generals.
As per the CNBC:
“TikTok is under investigation by a bipartisan group of state attorneys general to determine if the popular short-form video platform’s design, operations, or promotion to young users negatively affects their physical or mental health. The AGs are seeking to find out if the short-form video app violated state consumer-protection laws.”
Curb Your Content
The investigation will look at how TikTok supposedly “entices” young users, as well as the content it displays, and how these factors can potentially heavily influence response and behavior – and whether or not TikTok knows this, but willingly puts youngsters at risk via its algorithm.
The announcement came the day after US President Joe Biden put the focus on the negative impacts of social media once again, calling out harms caused by social apps during his annual State of the Union Address.
“We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit. It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, and demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.”
The same group of AGs launched a similar investigation on Instagram just last November. So, what might that mean for TikTok?
Honestly, it’s still hard to say, considering that the same Instagram probe is still in progress, showing no precedence to indicate potential findings and recommendations. Of course, relevant findings might lead to new restrictions for younger users, potentially changing the age limits to access the app, along with stricter enforcement parameters. That in itself is already a difficult area, because, in general, online age verification systems are not the most complex, easily bypassed by those with enough ‘Googling’ competence.
Of course, Instagram has started taking steps to address this, but for TikTok’s part, it says that “it’s doing all it can to protect its primarily young audience”.
The Wrap
Despite no concrete answer (yet), TikTok did provide this statement (via Axios):
“We care deeply about building an experience that helps to protect and support the well-being of our community, and appreciate that the state attorneys general are focusing on the safety of younger users. We look forward to providing information on the many safety and privacy protections we have for teens.”
There are definitely concerns here, with the emergence of harmful TikTok trends causing extensive damage to users, as well as substantial mental health impacts as a result of prolonged, excessive social media use.
While social media has become a critical part of connection and communication, it’s still pretty much an unregulated and different kind of beast when taking into account the various mechanisms that interact within its space. It further emphasizes the need to enforce effective protection methods to better guarantee the safety and wellbeing of users.
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