Blumenthal & Blackburn Demand TikTok Documents
Newly revealed court filings suggest TikTok executives’ direct knowledge of the harms their platforms cause to kids
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), authors of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, wrote TikTok CEO Shou Chew requesting “documents, communications, and research held by TikTok regarding the safety of minors on its platform.” The request follows reports of a court filing from the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office revealing TikTok executives’ awareness of the platform’s harm to young people and subsequent disregard of the mental and physical dangers the platform poses to children and teens.
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, “These new disclosures highlight the pervasive and alarming failures of TikTok and other online platforms to protect kids and the pressing need for federal rules to require accountability, safeguards, and transparency, such as those required in the Senate-passed Kids Online Safety Act.”
In today’s letters, the Senators requested that TikTok provide documents and information previously produced to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and other states Attorneys General.
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
October 11, 2024
Mr. Shou Zi Chew
Chief Executive Officer
TikTok Inc.
5800 Bristol Parkway
Culver City, California 90230
Dear Mr. Chew:
We write in response to shocking revelations of TikTok’s awareness of, and indifference to, its platform’s substantial harm to children and teens, and to demand documents, communications, and research held by TikTok regarding the safety of minors on its platform. According to information contained in a court filing from the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, 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.[1] Rather than address these risks, TikTok instead seemingly misled the public about the safety of its platform.[2]
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.[3] Moreover, according to the disclosures, TikTok held out announcements of new safety tools that its own executives knew were ineffective because they were “useful in a good talking point” against concerns from the public and policymakers.[4]
These new disclosures highlight the pervasive and alarming failures of TikTok and other online platforms to protect kids and the pressing need for federal rules to require accountability, safeguards, and transparency, such as those required in the Senate-passed Kids Online Safety Act. In light of these outrageous disclosures, we request all documents and information that TikTok has previously produced to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and other states Attorneys General no later than October 25, 2024.
We look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
-30-