NJ sues social media giant to protect kids from ‘deceptive practices’

⚫ NJ is one of several states to make the legal move on Tuesday

⚫ Officials say abusive practices are harming NJ's youth

⚫ A suit against Meta is still playing out

Your kid doesn't just enjoy scrolling through TikTok, they may be addicted to it.

New Jersey on Tuesday announced that it is suing the social media giant for "unlawful practices" that are harming the safety and mental health of the state's youth.

New Jersey was one of several states to make the move, along with the District of Columbia.

The suit, which comes after a multiyear investigation, alleges TikTok violates the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, misrepresenting itself as a safe and appropriate platform.

What might appear to be "harmless scrolling" by youth on the video-sharing app is actually the "planned and sustained manipulation of TikTok's youngest users," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said during a press conference in Newark.

Excessive use of social media apps such as TikTok is contributing to a growing mental health crisis among young people, officials allege.

"TikTok knows"

"Our investigation shows that TikTok knows about the dangerous effects of its platform on young users, and can mitigate these harms, but has deliberately chosen not to do so," Platkin said.

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New Jersey 101.5 has reached out to TikTok for comment.

According to the complaint against TikTok, the platform deceives consumers about the value of its time management tools and deceives users with features such as beauty filters.

"TikTok promotes compulsive use by giving children the same kind of dopamine hit that gamblers get from using a slot machine or playing roulette," said Cari Fais, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

According to the Attorney General's Office, the lawsuit seeks a number of remedies, including civil penalties and an injunction to stop TikTok (owned by Chinese company ByteDance) from violating New Jersey's consumer fraud laws.

The new suit is the result of a national investigation, co-led by New Jersey, that began in 2022 and looked at both TikTok and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Close to a year ago, New Jersey joined several states in a lawsuit against Meta.

In September, Platkin co-sponsored a letter to Congress urging the implementation of a U.S. Surgeon General warning on algorithm-driven social media platforms.

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