TikTok gave teens, children placebo safety feature in experiment, New York alleges

The lawsuit claims TikTok assured users of its commitment to safety while knowingly preventing some groups from accessing safety tools, particularly those seeking to avoid unwanted content. Internal communications cited in the complaint suggest a TikTok product manager for Digital Well Being found placebo tests on the Algo Refresh feature problematic, noting it conflicted with principles of algorithm transparency and control.

These experiments, conducted repeatedly in 2023 on thousands of users, allegedly aimed to study user retention and impact on advertising revenue. The lawsuit also claims TikTok misrepresented the "Algo Refresh" feature, stating it would reset video recommendations when it only offered a temporary change. TikTok has broadly denied New York's allegations and stated that keeping young users safe is a priority.

Further allegations, previously reported by Bloomberg, describe separate experiments where TikTok randomly disabled safety features on user accounts, limiting exposure to harmful content. The lawsuit cites an internal review showing a teen boy in New York, part of such a test, committed suicide after being exposed to an "onslaught" of self-harm and suicide content.