TikTok: Social media adolescent addiction claims

TikTok is named as a defendant in the ongoing Social Media Adolescent Addiction litigation (MDL No. 3047), where plaintiffs allege the platform was built around features designed to foster compulsive use among minors. State attorneys general in Massachusetts, California, and New York have filed related complaints describing TikTok's recommendation system and engagement features in similar terms.

Design features named in these complaints include:

• The For You Page recommendation algorithm
• Infinite scroll
• Autoplay
• Push notifications
• Likes, comments, and follower counts
• Stories and LIVE features
• Beauty filters
• The platform's 60-minute screen-time limit

The alleged defect isn't simply that TikTok hosts harmful content. It's that the product itself was engineered to hold a user's attention and bring them back after they leave.

How TikTok's features are alleged to work together

TikTok's recommendation system tracks likes, skips, comments, and viewing time, then uses those signals to select the next video. The Massachusetts complaint alleges TikTok's own materials internally described this system as addictive. Combined with autoplay and infinite scroll, the platform removes the natural points where a user would normally pause or stop.

Several other features are alleged to reinforce that loop:

• Push notifications are alleged to bring users back after they leave the app, with some designed to prevent users from disengaging altogether
• Likes and comments function as unpredictable social rewards, which California's Attorney General alleges are especially powerful for teens navigating peer acceptance
• Stories and LIVE features create urgency to check the app before content disappears
• TikTok's 60-minute screen-time limit could reportedly be bypassed with a passcode, which New York's Attorney General alleges functioned more like a reminder than an actual restriction
• Refresh and Restricted Mode features are alleged to not work as TikTok represented them

Teens are especially affected by these design choices

According to a 2023 Pew Research survey cited in California's complaint, 63% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 use TikTok, and 17% say they use it almost constantly. The Massachusetts complaint alleges TikTok was aware that young users have limited ability to self-regulate their use, yet maintained features built to maximize engagement anyway. The American Psychological Association has noted that adolescents' still-developing impulse control can make features like infinite scroll especially difficult to resist.

Separately, TikTok's beauty filters have been linked to body-image harm. New York's Attorney General cited research showing that half of girls surveyed believed they didn't look good without editing, and the majority had tried to change or hide part of their body using filters.

File a social media addiction claim

If your child developed a diagnosed health condition tied to TikTok's design, you may have grounds to file a claim. Atraxia Law reviews the specific features and circumstances behind your child's TikTok use to determine whether your case fits the current litigation. Get in touch today for a free case evaluation and to be connected with an attorney who is handling TikTok claims in the MDL.