(Media release from the Office of Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr):
Attorney General Chris Carr has joined a nationwide investigation into TikTok for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults despite the association between usage and physical and mental health harms. Specifically, attorneys general nationwide are examining whether the company put the public at risk by violating state consumer protection laws.
“We will always stand up to protect Georgia’s children, and we will not tolerate those who put their health and well-being at risk,” said Carr. “Social media use and its harmful effects on young people is a serious issue that must be addressed with safety as the only priority. While TikTok chooses to target our youngest residents with enhanced marketing tactics, we will continue working with our fellow attorneys general to review all available information and keep our children safe.”
The investigation will include a thorough review of the harmful effects for young users and whether TikTok had knowledge of such harms. Among other areas, the investigation will focus on the techniques used by TikTok to boost young user engagement, including increasing the duration of time spent on the platform and frequency of engagement with the platform.
In May 2021, a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general urged Facebook to abandon its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under 13. In November 2021, attorneys general from across the country announced their investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, for providing and promoting its social media platform Instagram to kids.
Leading the investigation is a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont. Along with Georgia, the leading states are joined by a broad group of attorneys general from across the country.