By WMBD-TV

CHICAGO – Illinois is one of several states that is suing social media giant, TikTok, for its business practices which the suit alleges target children and deceive the public about the social media platform’s danger.

The state’s top prosecutor, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, filed one of more than a dozen suits that were filed today by other state’s attorney generals.

The suits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states, including California, Kentucky and New Jersey.

All of the complaints were filed in state courts which allege violations of each state’s consumer protection laws.

The state prosecutors, Raoul included, allege TikTok’s business model, which seeks to capture as much user time and attention as possible to sell advertising, has targeted youth, including teenagers and even younger children, in ways that take advantage of them.

“American children and teenagers are in the grip of a devastating mental health crisis,” Raoul said. “The addictive features on TikTok’s social media platform interfere with sleep and education, and contribute to depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm.

“In Illinois, we will always put our children and young people first. I am committed to holding TikTok and any other social media companies accountable for putting profits ahead of our children’s safety and well-being,” he added.

At the heart of each lawsuit is the TikTok algorithm, which powers what users see on the platform by populating the app’s main “For You” feed with content tailored to people’s interests. The lawsuits also emphasize design features that they say make children addicted to the platform, such as the ability to scroll endlessly through content, push notifications that come with built-in “buzzes” and face filters that create unattainable appearances for users.

In its filings, the District of Columbia called the algorithm “dopamine-inducing,” and said it was created to be intentionally addictive so the company could trap many young users into excessive use and keep them on its app for hours on end. TikTok does this despite knowing that these behaviors will lead to “profound psychological and physiological harms,” such as anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia and other long-lasting problems, the DC complaint said.

“It is profiting off the fact that it’s addicting young people to its platform,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The U.S. surgeon general has found there are ample indicators that social media can have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. Eighth and 10th graders now spend an average of three-and-a-half hours per day on social media.

According to the surgeon general, adolescents who spend more than three hours on social media per day face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, including symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The use of TikTok is pervasive among young people in the United States. In 2023, 63% of all Americans ages 13 to 17 who responded to a Pew Research survey reported using TikTok, and most teenagers in the U.S. used TikTok daily.

Raoul, in the Illinois lawsuit, alleges that TikTok uses design features that are addictive and that exploit young users’ psychological vulnerabilities to keep them repeatedly using the platform for prolonged periods of time.

Many of these product features, the suit claims, have been linked to damaging psychological outcomes.

According to the complaint filed by his office, TikTok’s platform drives compulsive behavior, interfering with sleep and education, and includes features that can exacerbate issues young people have with depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm.

Last month, Raoul joined a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general calling on Congress to pass legislation requiring a U.S. surgeon general warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms.

The other attorneys general who have filed suit are from California, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington.

In all, 23 attorneys general have filed actions against TikTok for its conduct toward youth, including existing suits pending in Utah, Nevada, Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and Texas.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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