Written by Jonathan Stemple
(Reuters) – TikTok has long known that its live video streaming encourages sexual behavior and exploits children, but turns a blind eye because it “substantially benefits” from them, according to newly disclosed materials in a lawsuit filed by the state of Utah.
The charges were announced on Friday, ahead of a scheduled January 19 ban on TikTok in the United States unless China-based ByteDance sells the popular social media app.
President-elect Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to suspend this ban. TikTok, for its part, said it is prioritizing safe live streaming.
The original lawsuit in Utah accusing TikTok of child exploitation was filed last June by the state's Division of Consumer Protection, with state Attorney General Sean Reyes saying the TikTok live-streaming feature created a “virtual strip club” by connecting victims with adult predators in real time. .
Citing internal TikTok employee communications and compliance reports, Friday's largely unredacted complaint said TikTok learned of the threats posed by Live through a series of internal reviews of the feature.
It said an investigation known as Project Meramec revealed in early 2022 how hundreds of thousands of 13- to 15-year-olds bypassed Live's minimum age restrictions.
She said many children were “groomed” by adults to perform sexual acts, sometimes involving nudity, in exchange for virtual gifts.
The complaint also said that an investigation launched in 2021, Project Jupiter, found that criminals used live streaming to launder money, sell drugs and finance terrorism including ISIS.
Additionally, an internal study conducted in December 2023 documented what TikTok admitted was the “cruelty” of maintaining live streaming with its current risks to minors on the app, the complaint said.
User safety
TikTok has resisted the disclosures, citing confidentiality concerns and its interest in “preventing potential bad actors from having a roadmap” to misuse the app.
Utah State Judge Coral Sanchez ordered the release of much of the previously redacted material on December 19.
“This lawsuit ignores a number of proactive measures that TikTok has voluntarily implemented to support the safety and well-being of the community,” a TikTok spokesperson said on Friday.
“Instead, the complaint selects misleading quotes and outdated documents and presents them out of context, distorting our commitment to the safety of our community,” the spokesperson added.
In October, a bipartisan group from 13 US states and Washington, D.C., filed a separate lawsuit against TikTok, alleging exploitation of children and their addiction to the app.
“Social media is often a tool for exploiting American youth,” Reyes said in a statement on Friday.
“Thanks to Judge Sanchez's ruling, more of TikTok's shocking behavior will now be revealed through this unredacted complaint,” he added. “(The) full extent of her guilt can be proven at trial.”
President Joe Biden signed a law authorizing the TikTok ban last April, addressing concerns that TikTok might collect intelligence on American users and share it with the Chinese government.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether to suspend the ban on January 10. It is expected to issue its ruling quickly.
