64
More than a dozen states in the US have sued TikTok, accusing the social media platform of helping to drive a mental health crisis among teenagers (www.bbc.com)
submitted 1 day ago by tardigrada@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org
38 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country allege that the company uses addictive features to hook children to the app and that it has intentionally misled the public about the safety of prolonged use.

[...]

New York Attorney General Letitia James said young people across the country had died or been injured doing TikTok "challenges" and many others were feeling "more sad, anxious and depressed because of TikTok's addictive features".

She cited a 15-year-old boy, who died in Manhattan while “subway surfing” - riding on top of a moving subway car. His mother later found TikTok videos of such activity on his phone, she said.

[...]

Regulators have launched similar cases against Facebook and Instagram for their impact on young people's mental health.

[...]

The Federal Trade Commission, a government watchdog, accused TikTok in August of violating child privacy laws.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] tardigrada@beehaw.org 2 points 1 day ago

TikTok’s ‘blackout’ challenge linked to deaths of 20 children in 18 months, report says - (December 2022)

TikTok faces lawsuit over ‘blackout challenge’ death of 10-year-old girl -- (August 2024)

Blackout challenge -- (Wikipedia)

The blackout challenge is an internet challenge based around the choking game, which deprives the brain of oxygen.[1] It gained widespread attention on TikTok in 2021, primarily among children.[2] It has been compared to other online challenges and hoaxes that have exclusively targeted a young audience.[3] It has been linked to the deaths of at least twenty children.

There is much more on that across the web.

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 5 points 20 hours ago

I remember this being a thing before tik tok

[-] tardigrada@beehaw.org 1 points 11 hours ago

This 'blackout challenge' on Tiktok was a thing before Tiktok?

[-] basmati@lemmus.org 3 points 11 hours ago

Yes, this exact thing was at my middle school in the early 2000s, tiktok being a vector for things kids already do and have done for at least twenty years does not make it special.

[-] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 2 points 10 hours ago

Way before TikTok yeah. I remember almost the exact same headlines like 15 years ago in middle school.

[-] tardigrada@beehaw.org 1 points 10 hours ago

Then it's time to ban this.

[-] meowMix2525@lemm.ee 2 points 9 hours ago

Ban kids making up dumbshit challenges and attempting them?

this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2024
64 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

37640 readers
383 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
alyaza@beehaw.org
TheRtRevKaiser@beehaw.org
gyrfalcon@beehaw.org
rs5th@beehaw.org
coldredlight@beehaw.org
Los@beehaw.org
SemioticStandard@beehaw.org
TheRtRevKaiser@kbin.social
remington@beehaw.org