Social media platforms play a crucial role in everything we do, and as investigators, we keep a close eye on news relating to these platforms. And as usual, TikTok is in the hotseat. Again. You can read previous articles about TikTok’s legal troubles highlighted here.
According to Andrew G. Simpson of Insurance Journal, TikTok Inc. is the defendant in a lawsuit filed by the state of New Hampshire for allegedly violating their consumer protection act.
Simpson writes, “The state’s complaint against TikTok filed in Superior Court in Merrimack alleges that the company has engaged in unfair and deceptive acts or practices in violation of New Hampshire law by designing an unfair product and misleading the state’s consumers about its safety. It also accuses TikTok of violating children’s privacy by collecting and using their personal data.”
Here are some details of the complaint:
“TikTok’s platform includes ‘addictive features to exploit young users’ naivete and ongoing brain development and maximize the time young users spend on the platform in the interest of profit’ and ‘make it hard for children to disengage from the platform and lead to a cycle of excessive use.’”
“Alleges that the company knows this cycle of use results in ‘profound harm to its young users, including depression, anxiety, and isolation from friends and family.’”
“New Hampshire consumers have suffered injury because TikTok’s conduct ‘unreasonably creates obstacles to the free exercise of consumer decision-making and induces users to spend significant time on the app, including time the users themselves report they do not want to spend on the app.’”
Lastly, New Hampshire is petitioning the court for a permanent order to ban TikTok from “engaging in unfair acts and practices, restitution to consumers, civil penalties in the amount of $10,000 for each violation of the state’s consumer protection act, and an award covering all legal costs and expenses.”
We will be keeping an eye on the case.
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