- Arizona AG Kris Mayes has filed a consumer protection lawsuit against TikTok Inc. and related entities alleging that the company violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act through its platform design, marketing practices, and disclosures concerning potential risks to young users. The complaint alleges that TikTok uses features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, reward loops featuring harmful content, social comparison metrics, push notifications, and harmful appearance-altering filters to encourage prolonged use among minors and increase revenue from user data.
- The lawsuit alleges that TikTok failed to adequately disclose or address potential risks associated with youth usage, including anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, disordered eating, body image distress, and self-harm. The lawsuit also alleges that TikTok’s recommendation algorithms can direct minors toward increasingly harmful or age-inappropriate content and that its content moderation systems do not sufficiently restrict such material.
- AG Mayes further alleges that TikTok permits substantial use by children under 13 despite its stated age restrictions. The complaint also raises concerns about child sexual exploitation and the alleged circulation of child sexual abuse material through private accounts promoted by the platform’s recommendation system.