The video-sharing software is allegedly made with teenagers’ addiction to screen time in mind, according to the claims.
The claims were deemed “inaccurate and misleading” by TikTok, which cited features including the default screen time and privacy settings for users under the age of sixteen.
The app, which is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, is suffering more setbacks as a result of the legal action. Bytedance has already expressed that it will not transfer data to the Beijing government, despite the possibility of a US ban.
Attorney General of New York Letitia James stated, “Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok.”
She said that young people have been hurt and killed by imitating stunts they had seen.
Brian Schwalb, her colleague in Washington, DC, referred to it as “an intentionally addictive product”.
In his case, he claims that TikTok has caused “profound psychological and physiological harms,” such as body dysmorphia, anxiety, and sadness.
TikTok’s live streaming and virtual money features effectively allow a “virtual strip club with no age restrictions” to operate, according to further accusations made in the class action lawsuit.
