Attorney General Peterson co-led a nationwide investigation into TikTok for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults while use is associated with physical and mental health harms. Attorneys General nationwide are examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws that put the public at risk.
The investigation will look into the harms such usage causes to young users and what TikTok knew about those harms. The investigation focuses, among other things, on the techniques utilized by TikTok to boost young user engagement, including increasing the duration of time spent on the platform and frequency of engagement with the platform.
In May of 2021, 44 Attorneys General took similar measures and urged Facebook to not launch a version of Instagram for children 13 and younger. In November, Attorneys General from across the country launched an investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc. for providing and promoting Instagram to kids.
Attorneys General from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont have joined efforts in this investigation. They are joined by a broad group of Attorneys General from across the country.