New York lawsuit alleges TikTok gave teens a placebo safety feature in experiments

Mixed · 2New York's lawsuit against TikTok, unsealed on 7 October, alleges the company ran an experiment on thousands of users who tried to turn on a safety feature, giving them non-functional versions of the tool. 1 2 Mixed · 2In the so-called "ghost" or placebo experiments, TikTok allegedly selected thousands of users, including teens and children, who opted to use safety features such as "Algo Refresh", a tool meant to reset recommendations for users trying to escape unwanted or potentially harmful content. According to the suit, those users believed they had activated it, but their feeds did not change, unlike users who got the working version. 1 2 Mixed · 2The suit alleges a TikTok product manager for Digital Well Being called placebo tests on Algo Refresh problematic and said users might find them misleading, writing in an internal chat: "A placebo group completely conflicts with that." The company allegedly ran the tests repeatedly on thousands of users in 2023, comparing those with and without the feature to study time spent on the site and the effect on ad revenue. 1 2

Mixed · 2The suit also alleges TikTok misled consumers by saying Algo Refresh would reset the recommendation algorithm when it was only a temporary change, and that TikTok says safety is a priority and the platform is appropriate for young people while knowingly keeping some users from safety tools. 1 2 Mixed · 2The unsealed portions further allege a separate set of experiments, previously reported by Bloomberg, in which TikTok randomly selected users and turned off safety features that limited exposure to harmful content. Bloomberg reported that a New York teen boy in that test died by suicide after being shown content about self-harm and suicide, and the suit says internal reviews found he had been shown an "onslaught" of such content. 1 2 Mixed · 2A TikTok spokesperson said the company continuously improves its platform and, like most companies, regularly tests new products and features to validate the experience. The company has broadly denied New York's allegations in court filings and says keeping young users safe is a priority. 1 2

Mixed · 2The case is New York Attorney General Letitia James's, one of more than two dozen state suits accusing TikTok of designing its platform to addict children and misleading users about safety. James, a Democrat, sued in 2024; the test claims were in an updated sealed complaint filed at the end of August that a judge later ordered unsealed. In September TikTok settled the first state case set for trial, agreeing to pay Alabama up to $300 million and change how its platform works for teens there. 1 2