Minnesota Sues TikTok Over Addictive Features for Children (1)

TikTok violates Minnesota consumer protection laws by exploiting younger users and pitting them against “some of the most powerful and manipulative design features in the world” to keep them addicted, the state said in a complaint filed Tuesday.

TikTok’s safety features are “flawed, under-resourced, and inadequate,” and the platform is intentionally designed to created “widespread habitual dependence” on the app among younger users, state Attorney General Keith Ellison said in the lawsuit filed in Minnesota District Court.

The state is targeting several of TikTok’s allegedly “addictive features,” including its livestream and gifting functions that Minnesota claims are “flooded with sexual ...