AG Slatery Leads Nationwide Investigation into TikTok

Attorneys General Concerned for Safety and Well-Being of Children

Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, along with a bipartisan group of attorneys general, is leading a nationwide investigation of the social media platform TikTok to determine whether the company violated state consumer protection laws that put the public, especially children and young adults, at risk.

The investigation will look into physical and mental health harms associated with use of the platform 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 is a bipartisan coalition of Attorneys General from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont. They are joined by a broad group of Attorneys General from across the country.