US justice attacks Chinese application TikTok. The social network to the billion users made the object of a survey of its algorithms and methods of marketing to young people.
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On Wednesday March 2, a coalition of eight American states (California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont) announced the launch of large-scale investigations. Objective : “protect children and support parents“, assured the attorney general of the American state of Vermont, Thomas Donovan.
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“Devastating” effects on mental health
“Our children are growing up in the age of social media and many feel the need to compete with these filtered versions of reality that they see on their screens”, regrets Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, at the origin of investigation.
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We know this has devastating effects on children’s mental health and well-being. But we don’t know what the companies themselves knew and since when, he said.
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Early research by prosecutors also showed that “the use ofInstagram is associated with increased risks of damage to physical and mental health young people, including depression, eating disorders, and even suicide,” said Maura Healey, Massachusetts Attorney General.
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On his side, TikTok promises to “provide information about the many privacy and safety mechanisms we have for teens,” its spokesperson said. And to continue: “We are very concerned about building an experience favorable to the well-being of our community, and we appreciate that the attorneys general are focused on the safety of the youngest users”.
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“I don’t think TikTok has much to worry about,” commented analyst Carolina Milanesi, of Creative Strategies near theAFP. “They’re going to have to do the same number as Meta, which is to detail their features for security,” but “this will have no effect on usage“.
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