Edited video shows TikTok staff feared app could be addictive

TikTok staffers rise concerns successful unsealed video

TikTok employees rise concerns astir app's interaction connected minors successful unsealed video 02:13

Newly unsealed and edited video shows TikTok employees and consultants expressing interest that perchance addictive features of the app could harm users' intelligence health.

The video compilation, which was shared with CBS News by the North Carolina Department of Justice, is portion of the grounds successful a 2024 suit the state's erstwhile lawyer wide and different prosecutors filed against TikTok alleging the institution misled the nationalist astir the information of the societal media platform. 

North Carolina Special Superior Court Judge Adam Conrad connected Tuesday ordered that the video and ailment beryllium unsealed. In a abstracted ruling, helium besides denied a question by TikTok's genitor company, China-based ByteDance, to disregard the North Carolina lawsuit.

"These clips intelligibly amusement that societal media companies cognize they're designing their apps to hook our children adjacent astatine the disbursal of their health," said North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson successful a connection to CBS News. "That's wherefore the institution fought truthful hard to support the video retired of the nationalist eye."

A TikTok spokesperson called the video a "shameful effort to distort an unfastened interior speech astir making the level safer erstwhile TikTok was conscionable opening 5 years ago," successful a connection to CBS MoneyWatch.

"This manipulation relies connected conversations taken retired of discourse with the sole intent of misleading the nationalist and grandstanding," helium added.

The spokesperson besides said that TikTok has implicit 70 features and settings designed to enactment the information and well-being of teens and different app users. Those features see a 60-minute regular surface time limit and different that automatically triggers a guided meditation exercise after 10 p.m. for teen users scrolling connected TikTok.

In a ailment issued successful October 2024, erstwhile North Carolina Attorney General Joshua Stein alleged TikTok's plan fosters "excessive, compulsive and addictive use" and that the institution knew astir the harm it was causing. Stein besides claimed that TikTok ignored the addictive quality of the app "because their concern exemplary and tendency for advertizing gross necessitate keeping consumers connected the app arsenic overmuch arsenic possible." 

The suit is portion of broader litigation against TikTok implicit allegations that it is harmful to children's intelligence wellness brought by 14 authorities lawyer generals past year. Minnesota's lawyer wide joined the combat this week with a abstracted lawsuit.

TikTok has denied the claims.

"We powerfully disagree with these claims, galore of which we judge to beryllium inaccurate and misleading,"  a TikTok spokesperson said successful a connection to CBS MoneyWatch astatine the time. "We're arrogant of and stay profoundly committed to the enactment we've done to support teens and we volition proceed to update and amended our product."

"Never privation to leave"

The 3 1/2-minute video released this week features a bid of clips of interior institution meetings, with speakers describing what they viewed arsenic harmful features of the TikTok app, including immoderate that beforehand "compulsive use." 

The meetings featured successful the video took spot a fewer years ago, according to a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Justice, who said they were incapable to disclose the nonstop dates.

"We evidently wanted radical to walk arsenic overmuch clip arsenic imaginable connected TikTok, which tin beryllium successful opposition to what is champion for your intelligence health," said Ally Mann, whose LinkedIn illustration lists her arsenic a creator selling and events pb astatine TikTok.

In a abstracted clip, Ashlen Sepulveda, who is labeled successful the video arsenic moving connected spot and information astatine the company, explains imaginable pitfalls of the TikTok algorithm which she says selects contented based connected users' searches.

"Let's accidental for eating disorders, for example," Sepulveda said successful the video. "The much the idiosyncratic looks up things astir fittingness oregon diet, it turns into losing value and past soon capable the full 'for you' provender for this idiosyncratic is truly brushed disordered eating behaviour that is being discussed by their peers with nary accidental to region themselves from that bubble."

In different clip, Brett Peters, who is planetary caput of creator advocacy and estimation astatine TikTok, according to his LinkedIn profile, said TikTok's extremity is to nutrient specified a diverseness of contented that "you ne'er privation to leave" the app. 

Sixty-three percent of teens said they utilized TikTok successful 2023, according to Pew Research Center poll. 

Meanwhile, TikTok continues to look an uncertain aboriginal arsenic it stares down an approaching deadline, recently extended to Sept. 17 by President Trump, requiring the app to abstracted from its China-based genitor institution oregon beryllium banned successful the U.S. 

• Social Media
• TikTok
• ByteDance