13 States Sue TikTok for Being Addictive

First an aside. Is TikTok different than other social media? Maybe, I guess, but the whole idea behind social media is to be addictive. After all, users like me who get on Facebook for five minutes a day – that is not someone that they can put a lot of ads in front of.

And, just to be clear, the whole purpose of social media is not to provide information or even entertainment. It is to serve up ads to you that advertisers are willing to pay them for.

Okay, now that this is out of the way, what is going on here?

Thirteen state Attorneys General say that TikTok harms children by promoting excessive, compulsive and addictive use. One state likens it to a virtual strip club for kids. Not sure about that analogy, but we will let that go.

The AGs say that creating an application that its users really like is a violation of state consumer protection laws. Interesting. I think the violation is a bit nuanced based on HOW they do that.

TikTok exploits and harms young users and deceives the public about the social media platform’s dangers, they say. I assume that their defense will be in part that they are not very much different than say the other billionaires’ toys like Elon’s X or Donald’s TSocial. TikTok is owned by a Chinese Billionaire. Maybe they are better at it and that is annoying.

The lawsuits single out TikTok’s strategy of keeping users engaged so they can sell more ads. Is this different than, say, YouTube, which seems to be very motivated to forcing me to log in so they can better track me and show me ads before they will let me watch a video?

One place the AGs may have some legitimacy is that, they say, the platform uses manipulative features and deceptive marketing to promote a narrative of safety.

Another place where they may gain some traction is that, the AGs say, the platform exploits kids under 13 without parental notice of consent, violating COPPA. They, of course, say that is not true.

I am sure that nothing will be resolved for years. It likely won’t even go to trial for a couple of years, never mind the endless appeals.

Still it is hard to believe that social media from Truth Social to TikTok isn’t harmful to all human beings. People are picking on TikTok because they are Chinese owned. Or maybe because they are very successful. Don’t know.

What is unclear is what happens if TikTok is sold (unlikely) by the end of the year as required by a recent law passed by Congress, which is, of course, being challenged in court. Credit: Cybernews

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