DENVER (KDVR) -- TikTok's troubles have continued since Attorney General Phil Weiser led a coalition of 22 attorneys general in urging TikTok to comply with an ongoing multi-state investigation.
That was announced on Oct. 8, and since then, new information has come out that shows TikTok was aware of the harm it was causing to its young users.
“TikTok’s disregard for compliance with reasonable information requests despite court orders and destruction of relevant documents sets a dangerous precedent," Weiser said in a statement.
Republican U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN) and Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) wrote a letter to the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, on Oct. 11 demanding "documents, communications, and research held by TikTok regarding the safety of minors on its platform."
The senators wrote, “TikTok has knowingly designed their products in a manner that can cause substantial harm to kids—including fostering destructive addiction and amplifying child sexual exploitation. Rather than address these risks, TikTok instead seemingly misled the public about the safety of its platform.”
The senators continued, saying, "Among the appalling revelations apparently reflected in documents TikTok produced to the Kentucky AG: TikTok users can exhibit signs of addiction after just 35 minutes of use and that addiction can lead to significant mental health impacts; its moderation efforts fail to catch a substantial amount of child sexual exploitation material and the promotion of pedophilia, and that it instructed its staff to turn a blind eye to underage users."
On Oct. 8, TikTok released a statement to their Twitter page in response to the attorneys general.
"We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe to be inaccurate and misleading. We're proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we've done to protect teens and we will continue to update and improve our product. We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screentime limits, family pairing, and privacy by default for minors under 16. We've endeavored to work with the Attorneys General for over two years, and it is incredibly disappointing they have taken this step rather than work with us on constructive solutions to industrywide challenges."
TikTok Statement
TikTok has not yet responded to the letter from the senators.
Along with Weiser, other attorneys general joining the amicus brief are from Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
TikTok has until Jan. 19 to find a U.S. buyer, or it will face a ban.
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