AGs Working To Determine If Social Media App TikTok Puts Children At Risk
BOSTON (CBS) – Attorney General Maura Healey announced Wednesday that Massachusetts is among the states probing to see if TikTok is putting children at risk.
Healey is part of a bipartisan group of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont working to determine if the platform is "designing, operating, and promoting its social media platform to children, teens, and young adults in a manner that causes or exacerbates physical and mental health harms."
The investigation is aimed at determining if TikTok violated state consumer protection laws.
In 2021, Healey became part of an investigation into Instagram for promoting the app to children. The TikTok probe is an extension of that investigation.
Healey's office said the investigation will look into methods used by the company to boost user engagement.
"As children and teens already grapple with issues of anxiety, social pressure, and depression, we cannot allow social media to further harm their physical health and mental wellbeing," Healey said in a statement. "State attorneys general have an imperative to protect young people and seek more information about how companies like TikTok are influencing their daily lives."