New Delhi: New York's attorney general has alleged that TikTok ran "ghost" experiments that gave thousands of users, including teenagers and children, non-functional versions of its safety features, according to claims unsealed in court this week.
In what the lawsuit describes as "placebo" experiments, TikTok selected thousands of users who had opted to use safety tools such as "Algo Refresh", a feature meant to reset a user's recommendations so they could escape unwanted or potentially harmful content. According to the allegations, those users believed they had switched the feature on, but their feeds did not change, unlike the feeds of users given the fully working version.
One of many state lawsuits
The claims are part of New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the company, one of more than two dozen cases brought by US states accusing TikTok of designing its platform to encourage addictive use among children and of misleading users about its safety. Many documents in the state cases have been sealed or heavily redacted as TikTok has sought to keep operational details out of public view.
The lawsuit argues that TikTok assures users that safety is a top priority while, the suit claims, knowingly keeping certain safety tools away from some users, including those who had specifically sought to avoid harmful content.
TikTok responds
A TikTok spokesperson said the company continuously improves its platform and, like most companies, regularly tests new products and features to understand how they work in the real world. The company has broadly denied New York's allegations in court filings and has said keeping young users safe is a priority.
The unsealed claims follow a September settlement in which TikTok agreed to pay Alabama up to $300 million and change how its platform functions for teens in that state, in the first state case set for trial.
Sources:
- TikTok gave teens, children placebo safety feature in experiment, New York alleges (Reuters)
- New York alleges TikTok gave teens, children a placebo safety feature instead of a real one (TechCrunch)
In what the lawsuit describes as "placebo" experiments, TikTok selected thousands of users who had opted to use safety tools such as "Algo Refresh", a feature meant to reset a user's recommendations so they could escape unwanted or potentially harmful content. According to the allegations, those users believed they had switched the feature on, but their feeds did not change, unlike the feeds of users given the fully working version.
One of many state lawsuits
The claims are part of New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the company, one of more than two dozen cases brought by US states accusing TikTok of designing its platform to encourage addictive use among children and of misleading users about its safety. Many documents in the state cases have been sealed or heavily redacted as TikTok has sought to keep operational details out of public view.
The lawsuit argues that TikTok assures users that safety is a top priority while, the suit claims, knowingly keeping certain safety tools away from some users, including those who had specifically sought to avoid harmful content.
TikTok responds
A TikTok spokesperson said the company continuously improves its platform and, like most companies, regularly tests new products and features to understand how they work in the real world. The company has broadly denied New York's allegations in court filings and has said keeping young users safe is a priority.
The unsealed claims follow a September settlement in which TikTok agreed to pay Alabama up to $300 million and change how its platform functions for teens in that state, in the first state case set for trial.
Sources:
- TikTok gave teens, children placebo safety feature in experiment, New York alleges (Reuters)
- New York alleges TikTok gave teens, children a placebo safety feature instead of a real one (TechCrunch)
