Congress is doing social media hearings, and the American Decency Association (ADA, headquartered in Fremont, MI) reported about TikTok in its recent newsletter. TikTok targets US children's mental health in the worst way, and the ADA's call to action caught my eye.
The company ClaimsHero says parents whose children have been hurt by TikTok can join the fight by joining 46 out of 50 state Attorneys General in taking action against them.
It begs the question - is Michigan's AG Dana Nessel part of the Tiktok coalition, or one of the 4 holdouts??
As it turns out, Michigan is listed on the 46-state Amici Curiae (friend of the court) filing in the Chancery Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, seeking to "support an Order Compelling Compliance with the [TN] Attorney General's Request for Information."
Nessel's office issued the following press release on March 3, 2022.
AG Nessel Joins Nationwide Investigation into TikTok
LANSING - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a nationwide investigation into TikTok for providing and promoting its social media platform to children and young adults even though social media use is associated with physical and mental health harms to young people. Attorneys General nationwide are examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws that put the public at risk.
AG Nessel has long expressed concern about the negative impacts of social media platforms on Michigan's youngest residents.
"Recent reports on social media's impact on the mental and physical health of young people raise serious questions among attorneys general across the nation. Ultimately, we are concerned about protecting our youth," Nessel said. "I am proud to join my colleagues in this investigation. Given this is an ongoing investigation, I will not be discussing any details beyond this announcement."
The investigation will look into the harms such usage causes to young users and what TikTok knew about those harms. The investigation focuses, among other things, on the techniques utilized 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 into both Meta and Tik Tok are Attorneys General from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont, who are joined by a broad group of Attorneys General nationwide.
Nessel's office issued an update on the Meta/Facebook suit last fall, but about TikTok - crickets.
It's been almost two years.
Kids are suffering terrible mental health issues.
I, for one, am curious whether the AG has made any progress on corraling the social platform owned by our national enemy.
Were the AGs granted friend of the court status? Have they achieved any of their goals?
Will Michigan get an update anytime soon?
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