The District of Columbia and 13 US states have filed a lawsuit against TikTok. They accuse the platform of contributing to the development of the teenage mental health crisis, the BBC reports.
The plaintiffs allege that the social network uses addictive features to attract children to the app, and that it intentionally misleads the public about the safety of long-term use.
In view of this, the plaintiffs are calling for financial sanctions against TikTok.
"TikTok knows that compulsive use of and other harmful effects of its platform are wreaking havoc on the mental health of millions of American children and teenagers," says the lawsuit filed in New York.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James spoke about cases of young people being killed or injured across the country because of TikTok challenges. In addition, many others are experiencing "more sad, anxious and depressed because of TikTok's addictive features".
She recalled a 15-year-old boy who died in Manhattan while riding on the roof of a moving subway car. According to her, his mother later found a TikTok video of such activity on her son's smartphone.
However, the platform calls the current lawsuit "disappointing."
"We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading," the platform said in a statement.
They assure us that they are proud of the work they have done to protect teenagers and promise to continue to update and improve the product.