According to media reports, TikTok Live broadcasts were used to exploit children. new unredacted lawsuit filed by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. The lawsuit states that not only did TikTok know that TikTok Lives was exposing minors to harassing messages from adults, but the company also directly profited from some exchanges through TikTok Live's virtual gift system.
After investigation carried out Forbes On TikTok Live, TikTok conducted its own review called “Project Meramec,” according to the lawsuit. The company found that “hundreds of thousands of children” were bypassing TikTok's age restrictions, live streaming and communicating with adults.
Since TikTok receives a cut from sales of digital gifts during live streams, the company technically made money from “transactional gifts” rather than “nudity and sexual activity” that occurred during streams. And because TikTok's algorithm favors livestreams in which virtual gifts are exchanged, the lawsuit says, some of these sexually exploitative streams were also shared more widely than they otherwise would have been.
The lawsuit details another TikTok investigation, “Project Jupiter,” which investigated whether TikTok Live's gifting feature was used for money laundering. As it turned out, this was true. According to the lawsuit, the company determined that “criminals were selling drugs and conducting fraudulent transactions” during the livestreams.
When TikTok was asked to comment on the lawsuit, it shared the following statement:
This lawsuit ignores a number of preventative measures that TikTok has voluntarily taken to support the safety and well-being of its community. Instead, the complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and outdated documents and presents them out of context, misrepresenting our commitment to the safety of our community.
We stand behind our efforts, which include: strong security protections and screen time limits for teen accounts enabled by default, family pairing tools to allow parents to monitor their teens, strict live streaming requirements, and strict adherence to our Community Guidelines at all times.
The Utah Attorney General's Office filed a redacted version of the lawsuit. in June 2024next different suit from 2023 regarding the exciting design of the TikTok app. The Utah lawsuit is not the first time the company has come under scrutiny for its approach to child safety. The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating TikTok. ensuring children's privacyand ban the application – now headed to the Supreme Court on appeal – was moved in part due to concerns about how the social video app could be used to influence children.