New York's lawsuit against TikTok alleges the social media platform provided a 'placebo' safety feature to some teen and child users during an experiment. These users reportedly believed they had activated a tool called 'Algo Refresh', designed to reset their content recommendations and filter out unwanted material.
However, according to the allegations, their feeds remained unchanged, unlike those of users not part of the experiment who had access to a fully functional version of the tool. Reuters reports that thousands of users, including teens and children, were involved in these experiments.
TikTok told Reuters that, like most companies, it regularly tests new products and features to validate the experience and understand how they work. The lawsuit is one of more than two dozen cases brought by states accusing TikTok of designing its platform to encourage addictive use among children and misleading users about its safety.
Bloomberg previously reported in June on another alleged experiment where a safety feature was withheld from 15 million U.S. users, including a teenager who later died by suicide.