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Internal documents disclosed on Friday by a US public radio station reveal that TikTok’s internal teams identified the negative impact its platform was having on young users. However, the company reportedly scaled back preventive actions to mitigate these effects, fearing that such measures might result in a significant decline in user traffic.
These internal documents, cited in a subpoena issued by the Kentucky attorney general, form a crucial element of a lawsuit filed by 13 states, alongside Washington D.C. The legal action targets TikTok, accusing the platform of exacerbating mental health issues among its younger audience through its content and practices.
According to the documents, TikTok was fully aware of how appealing its platform is, largely due to its sophisticated recommendation algorithm. This algorithm creates an endless loop of short, entertaining videos, capturing the attention of users, particularly younger ones, and encouraging prolonged engagement.
One executive within TikTok’s leadership, speaking anonymously, emphasized the importance of being “aware” of the app’s effect on users’ lives, particularly in relation to fundamental activities such as sleeping, eating, moving around, and maintaining eye contact during personal interactions.
Just before the internal documents were sealed under court order by a state judge, Kentucky Public Radio was able to piece together crucial internal communications, offering a rare look at the internal workings of TikTok.
The lawsuit claims TikTok’s research found that after viewing 260 videos, a user likely became addicted to the platform.
The company’s studies also correlated “compulsive usage” with negative mental health effects, including “loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety.”
While TikTok has implemented features to limit young users’ screen time, including parental controls and a one-hour timeout, the documents suggest ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, did not seek to improve these tools despite knowing their limited effectiveness.
Read also: Showdown In Court As TikTok Battles US Ban
A TikTok project manager wrote, “Our goal is not to reduce the time spent” on the platform.
In response, TikTok called the publication of sealed court information “highly irresponsible.”
“Unfortunately, this complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and takes outdated documents out of context to misrepresent our commitment to community safety,” it said.
Alongside the state-led lawsuits, TikTok now faces the risk of being outlawed in the United States, a possibility linked to its ownership by ByteDance, a company headquartered in China, raising national security alarms.
The U.S. government accuses TikTok of being a channel through which Beijing can secretly collect sensitive user data and conduct spying operations. Furthermore, it asserts that the app is used to disseminate Chinese propaganda, charges that both the company and the Chinese government deny forcefully.
