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The state attorney general’s office has announced it is joining eight other states to investigate possible risks of TikTok to children and young adults.
The investigation will determine what harm, physical and mental, that TikTok usage causes young people and what TikTok knows about that harm, according to a news release by Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
The investigation also will focus on how TikTok keeps children engaged on the app, for how long and how often.
“If TikTok is found to have prioritized business growth over the physical and emotional well-being of Pennsylvania’s children, they will be held responsible for that,” Shapiro said.
Members of Shapiro’s press office did not elaborate on what the investigation would include beyond that.
TikTok provided the following statement to multiple media outlets:
“We care deeply about building an experience that helps to protect and support the well-being of our community, and appreciate that the state attorneys general are focusing on the safety of younger users. We look forward to providing information on the many safety and privacy protections we have for teens.”
On Feb. 8, TikTok Head of Trust and Safety Cormac Keenan announced updates to its policies “to promote safety, security and well-being on TikTok”.
The investigation will look into the harms such usage causes to young users and what TikTok knew about those harms.
These new policies include taking a stronger stance against dangerous acts and challenges, removing content that promotes eating disorders, clarifying existing stances on hateful ideologies and expanding the security of the platform.
Keenan also reported more than 91 million videos that violated content policy guidelines were removed from TikTok in the third quarter of 2021.
Shapiro joins Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, who launched the effort Wednesday, in the investigation.
Shapiro joins Attorneys General nationwide who are trying to determine if TikTok violated state consumer protection laws. They include Attorneys General from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont.
The state Office of Attorney General opened a similar investigation into Instagram in November 2021.
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