Tik Tok Groups Identifies harmful effects According to internal documents released Friday by Kentucky State Public Radio, the platform targets youth, but limited preventative measures for fear of declining users.
The documents were cited in a subpoena issued by a Kentucky prosecutor along with prosecutors in twelve other US states and Washington DC, accusing TikTok. Harms mental health of its young consumers.
Kentucky State Radio redacted the communications before a state judge ordered the documents removed from the public record.
The documents show that TikTok knew The attractive power of your platform And its recommendation algorithm, which provides chain videos.
“We want to know” the consequences of the algorithm on “sleep, nutrition, moving around the room or making eye contact with someone,” wrote a company executive.
In another internal document, TikTok predicted that the user would be “addicted”. From watching 260 videos.
“Compulsive use (TikTok) is associated with a range of negative effects on mental health, including loss of analytical ability” and “memory formation, contextualization, ability to communicate and empathy” can also be harmed, according to the company’s documents.
The Frequent use of social network It also creates an “increase in anxiety,” according to the same source.
TikTok has added many features To limit use of the Platform By young users like parental control and interruption after one hour of viewing.
However, according to the documents, Chinese subsidiary ByteDance did not attempt to improve the tool, Knowingly Its limited effect.
“Our goal is not to reduce time,” wrote a TikTok project manager on the platform.
“It is highly irresponsible for (public radio) to publish information protected by law,” TikTok said in a response sent to AFP.
For the platform, the documents were “taken out of context” and cited in a “misleading” manner. The company highlighted that it has Implementation measures To protect minors in their social network.
