Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday is suing the social media platform TikTok, alleging the video-sharing app lies about the prevalance of harmful content and uses addictive features to keep children and teenagers scrolling for hours at a time.
Sunday's suit alleges that "drug-related, sexual and other mature content and profanity is abundant on TikTok," and says the app's moderation efforts and parental controls have fallen short of shielding children in the commonwealth.
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The legal filing also accuses the company of exploiting users' weaknesses and deploying an endless stream of videos in an explicit effort to hook users.
"Addiction is TikTok's business model," states the lawsuit, which was filed Aug. 11 in Allegheny County.
The social media company, used by more than two-thirds of American teens, vowed to "vigorously defend against" Sunday's accusations.
"This lawsuit relies on misleading and inaccurate claims and deliberately ignores the concrete safety measures TikTok has voluntarily implemented to support the well-being of our community," the company said in a written statement, adding that teen accounts come with dozens of built-in safety, privacy and security settings.
TikTok asks people to enter their birth dates when registering and blocks people who are younger than 13 from regular accounts. But the attorney general's office contends that much of the app's content is inappropriate for people above this age cutoff.
The app has adopted an age rating of 13 and above in the Apple store, claiming that it contains some infrequent sexual content, profanity and references to substance use.
However, Sunday says that's inaccurate and that adult content is far more common than the company asserts. The suit argues TikTok could choose a more accurate Apple store age rating of "16+" or "18+" but has not done so.
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The app does offer safety features — including a restricted mode and family pairing option — but it's easy for teens to sidestep these precautions, Sunday claims.
"TikTok knows the restricted mode does not work and does not meet consumer expectations," Sunday told reporters at an Aug. 11 news conference.
The app also presents content in an infinite scroll, allowing users to page through videos in an endless stream and making it hard for them to disengage, according to the complaint. On top of that, push notifications can grab teens' attention even when they're not on the app by activating their social anxieties and fear of missing out, the suit alleges.
Attorneys in Sunday's office say the compulsive browsing fostered by these features can worsen mental health problems in young people, leading to depression, sleep loss and eating disorders.
The suit claims TikTok's conduct violates the state's consumer protection laws, asking a judge to penalize the company and require it to come into compliance.
Speaking to reporters, Sunday acknowledged concerns with other social media platforms and said his office has worked with other companies to add safeguards.
However, he left the door open for additional legal action.
"You will hear more from us in the near future," he said.
Bethany Rodgers is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania investigative journalist focusing on health and education.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Why Pennsylvania's attorney general is suing TikTok