TikTok – A Clear and Present Danger to the Youth of America

TikTok poses a clear and present danger to the Youth of America as one of the most pernicious and dangerous social media platforms currently in existence. It routinely sends content and material to children that is harmful to their mental and physical health, including content encouraging them to take their lives, engage in dangerous or deadly challenges, and engage in disordered eating behavior. TikTok’s singular goal is to maximize the engagement of kids to maximize advertising profits, regardless of whether the content is uplifting or bad for their mental health.

The platform’s raison d’être is to maximize engagement by addicting kids to the platform. It does so by showing material they “can’t look away from”—specifically stuff that is disturbing, psychologically discordant, or repellent—because research on the neurology of young children shows this triggers the highest dopamine response. TikTok algorithms are specifically designed to maximize engagement by addicting kids to the platform.

In its current form, TikTok also poses a clear and present national security threat to the United States. Its parent company, ByteDance, is 1% owned by the Chinese Sovereign wealth fund, and the Chinese government holds a seat on the board. As such, it can influence policies to cooperate with Chinese intelligence and gather private and personal data on American citizens. Under Chinese law, ByteDance is required to cooperate with intelligence at the risk of criminal prosecution.

However, the platform would pose a danger even if it were owned by an American company. The danger stems from sending videos to children telling them to starve themselves, step in front of trains, or shoot themselves in the head. TikTok must be held accountable for the “Mayhem” and “Carnage” it imposes on young people, and it must change its algorithms and design. The loss of a child in many cases has been the direct and proximate result of design decisions made to prioritize user engagement over the safety of young people.