Bipartisan group of state AGs to investigate TikTok

March 2 (UPI) -- A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from multiple states on Wednesday announced an investigation into TikTok and its impact on children, teens and young adults.

The coalition, led by attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont, plan to primarily examine the techniques TikTok uses to boost engagement among young users on the video-sharing platform.

"As children and teens already grapple with issues of anxiety, social pressure and depression, we cannot allow social media to further harm their physical health and mental wellbeing," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Haley said in a statement. "State attorneys general have an imperative to protect young people and seek more information about how companies like TikTok are influencing their daily lives."

The investigation will seek to determine whether TikTok violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk, and look into potential harms increased duration of time spent or frequency of engagement with the platform can cause young users as well as if the company was aware of these harms.

TikTok said in a statement to The New York Times that it has added new safety and privacy measures meant to protect younger users.

"We care deeply about building an experience that helps protect and support the well-being of our community and appreciate that the state attorneys general are focusing on the safety of younger users," the company said.

Healy previously announced an investigation into Facebook's parent company, Meta, for providing and promoting its Instagram social media platform to children.

Following testimony in Congress by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen about the nagative impact of the platforms on young users, the company paused the rollout of its planned Instagram Kids -- a child version of its popular photo-sharing app.

Haugen's revelations also prompted Congress to turn its focus to other social media platforms, calling in Michael Beckman, TikTok vice president and head of public policy for the Americas, for testimony in October.