Coalition of state attorneys general demands TikTok comply with mental health probes

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in court against TikTok this week.

The coalition demands that TikTok produce subpoenaed materials and evidence amid investigations into the company’s impact on youth mental health.

The brief supports a motion by Tennessee requesting a court order to require TikTok to “preserve and produce relevant evidence in response to an outstanding investigative subpoena,” according to a press release from  California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office.

The attorneys general allege that TikTok failed to preserve some relevant evidence, including employee chat messages, and that its lack of cooperation is hurting investigations into the company nationwide.

“We know that social media is taking a devastating toll on young people’s mental health and well-being, and through our investigation, we are getting a clearer sense of TikTok’s role,” Bonta said.

“TikTok cannot evade accountability — and today we are asking the court to order TikTok to cooperate with our investigation. Our children are hurting, and we have no time to waste in our efforts to determine if TikTok is violating the law in promoting its platform to young Californians.”

The attorneys general want a court order requiring TikTok to comply with requests made by various states regarding the negative mental health effects TikTok may potentially cause and what the company knows about those harms.

“Based on the investigations to date, the states have overwhelming reason to believe that a significant driver of the mental health crisis of American children and teens is the use of social media platforms, particularly TikTok,” the press release from Bonta’s office said. 

 

“Additionally, TikTok has demonstrated its knowledge of this risk, implementing restrictions and protective measures in other countries, including China, that limit the amount of time youth may access the platform each day.”

Bonta’s office said a correlation exists between heavy social media use in teens and self-harm, depression, and low self-esteem. Each additional hour that a teen spends on social media is associated with increased severity of depression symptoms, according to his office.

The amicus brief is available here.