New one Lawsuit against TikTok A lawsuit filed in Utah calls the social media app popular among child users a “virtual strip club” and argues that it puts children at risk.
Utah Consumer Protection Division TikTok is accused of “profiting from deceptive design features that facilitate sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, the distribution of pornography, and other illegal acts through its virtual currency system, in violation of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act (‘UCSPA’).”
“TikTok has created a virtual strip club that exploits minors across the U.S. by connecting innocent victims with predators in real-time. To add insult to injury, Live facilitates money laundering while TikTok quietly takes a fifty-cent fee on every transaction and rakes in billions in profits from the entire enterprise,” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement Monday. “Our investigation confirmed that TikTok is aware of the harm it is causing to young victims, but thinks it is too much to stop.”
A TikTok spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that the app has “industry-leading policies and measures in place to help protect the safety and well-being of teens.”
The Utah Consumer Protection Division accused TikTok of “profiting from deceptive design features that promote sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, the distribution of pornography, and other illegal acts through its virtual currency system in violation of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act.” (Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images)
“Creators must be at least 18 years of age before they can go live, and their account must meet the follower requirement. If we find accounts that don’t meet our age requirements, we immediately revoke access to features,” the spokesperson said.
The amended lawsuit filed Monday specifically takes aim at a feature on TikTok called LIVE in which users can stream live video to their accounts in real time. The UCSPA says that, combined with the app’s virtual currency system that allows users to pay for their content, “this feature allows adults to prey on children in a number of egregious ways, including by soliciting minors to transact with and solicit sexual acts from them.”
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“Despite knowing and encouraging these dangers, the Company has turned a blind eye because LIVE has helped make TikTok very wealthy,” the lawsuit states.
TikTok users must be 18 years of age or older to use the social media app’s livestreaming feature. (Jens Callen/Picture Alliance)
TikTok’s community guidelines state that the app “does not allow content that may place young people at risk of psychological, physical, or developmental harm.” The app has changed its guidelines over the past few years so that users must now be 18 years of age or older to use LIVE, but the Utah lawsuit argues that the app does not properly protect children from accessing and using the feature.
The lawsuit cites Charli D’Amelio as an example, A popular influencer on TikTok With over 150 million followers, who “was often allowed to live stream at the age of 15, while the minimum age requirement to host a live stream at the time was 16”.
UCSPA stated that “the Company is aware that LIVE operates like a virtual strip club, providing a performance platform for streamers, and allowing users to hand over virtual money.”
The lawsuit cites the example of Charli D’Amelio, a popular influencer with over 150 million followers on TikTok, who “was allowed to live stream at only 15 years old, despite the minimum age requirement to live stream at the time being 16.” (Sue/TikTok)
The complaint further alleges that the combination of live and virtual currency features increases the likelihood that children will act impulsively and are encouraged by adults to “undress, spread their legs, and expose body parts to the camera in exchange for virtual gifts.”
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“I find the new allegations against TikTok Live to be not only worrying, but extremely disturbing. Such disregard for the safety of young users on the platform, and profiting from their exploitation, cannot and will not be tolerated,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox “We will take all actions necessary to protect them from TikTok’s egregious behavior,” the lawsuit said.
AG Reyes further stated that “there are so many layers of harm in (TikTok’s) practices that we cannot wait a day to take action.”
The Utah lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s combination of live and virtual currency features makes children more likely to act impulsively and feel encouraged by adults to “undress, spread their legs, and expose body parts to the camera in exchange for virtual gifts.” (Photo: Jens Callen/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
“The State of Utah is at the forefront of the fight against child exploitation. This lawsuit is one of many ways we are fighting for child safety online,” he said.
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TikTok has been the target of multiple state and federal lawsuits alleging that the app poses both mental and physical dangers to children who use it. In April, President Biden signed a bill passed by the Senate forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company Bytedance to sell the app or have it banned in the United States. US lawmakers have accused the platform of being a risk to American national security, collecting user data and spreading disinformation.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
