Lawsuit in Utah: TikTok knew that minors were being exploited in live streams
Accordingly, streams on TikTok Live were used to exploit children a recently unredacted lawsuit filed by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. The lawsuit alleges that not only did TikTok know that TikTok Lives exposed minors to disturbing messages from adults, but that the company also directly benefited from some exchanges through TikTok Live’s virtual gifting system.
Following one investigation through Forbes The lawsuit states that TikTok Live conducted its own review of TikTok called “Project Meramec.” The company found that “hundreds of thousands of children” are bypassing TikTok’s age restrictions, hosting live streams and interacting with adults.
Because TikTok collects a portion of sales of digital gifts on live streams, the company technically made money from “transactional gifts” instead of “nudity and sexual activity” that occurred during streams. And because TikTok’s algorithm favors livestreams that involve exchanging virtual gifts, some of these sexually exploitative streams were also distributed more widely than they otherwise would have been, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit details another TikTok investigation, “Project Jupiter,” which examined whether TikTok Live’s gifting feature was used to launder money. As it turned out, it was. According to the lawsuit, the company discovered that “criminals were selling drugs and conducting fraud operations” during the livestreams.
When asked for comment on the lawsuit, TikTok shared the following statement:
This lawsuit ignores the number of proactive measures TikTok has voluntarily implemented to support the safety and well-being of the community. Instead, the complaint selects misleading quotes and outdated documents and takes them out of context, distorting our commitment to keeping our community safe.
We stand by our efforts, which include: robust safeguards and screen time limits enabled by default for teen accounts, family pairing tools for parents to supervise their teens, strict livestreaming requirements, and continued consistent enforcement of our Community Guidelines.
Utah’s AG filed the redacted version of this lawsuit in June 2024following another suit from 2023 about the addictive design of the TikTok app. The Utah lawsuit isn’t the first time the company has come under scrutiny for its handling of child safety. The FTC has been investigating TikToks Dealing with children’s privacyand banning the app – now went to the Supreme Court on appeal – was criticized in part because of concerns about how social video apps could be used to influence children.
