Mike Hilgers, attorney general from Nebraska, declared at a news conference in Lincoln that young users of the social media platform - TikTok - are directly affected by the algorithms that the platform has. Hilgers spoke about the harmful effects the platform might have overtime on the minds of children and teens who are constantly bombarded by large amounts of data and content.
Even more so, the data that can be found on the platform can affect and have adverse effects on body image, cause anxiety, and stimulate dark thoughts, as the Attorney General of Nebraska stated. As a result of those allegations, a lawsuit was filed against Tiktok where he noted the potential harm, the addictive behavior, and the rabbit hole effect it creates.
“TikTok holds itself out as a safe platform, (...) It tells people that it is a family-friendly platform. It tells people that it’s appropriate for people over the age of 12. It tells people that its restricted mode is effective. (...) It has all sorts of claims that it makes to the public, and none of those claims are true.” - Hilgers stated.
This quote is the attorney general's response regarding the social media platform. Those problems were addressed after the attorney general and his team logged into the app as teens ranging from 13 to 17 years old. The allegations state that the platform recommended inappropriate content, which the authorities see as unacceptable.
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