MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleged in a new court case that that the giant online company TikTok has plotted knowingly to addict and harm children. The lawsuit was filed in Hennepin County Court. Ellison claims that Tik Tok violated state consumer protection law: “This is about a company knowing the dangers and the dangerous effects of its product but making and taking no steps to mitigate those harms or inform users of the risks.” TikTok, he said, has designed visual algorithms that lead children to use the app compulsively and become mentally, physically and financially injured. Ellison also said that Tik Tok has violated the law by live-streaming in virtual monetary features that to exploit children sexually: “This stuff is digital nicotine, just like Big Tobacco designed its products to addict.
