00:00New lawsuits filed against TikTok in the U.S. on Tuesday accused the popular social media
00:08platform of harming and failing to protect young people.
00:11The lawsuits were filed separately in New York, California, the District of Columbia,
00:17and 11 other states.
00:19They expand Chinese-owned TikTok's legal fight with U.S. regulators and seek new financial
00:25penalties against the company.
00:27The states accuse TikTok of using intentionally addictive software designed to keep children
00:32watching as long and often as possible and misrepresenting its content moderation effectiveness.
00:39They also argue that TikTok seeks to maximize the amount of time users spend on the app
00:44to target them with ads.
00:46Washington D.C.'s attorney general alleged TikTok operates an unlicensed money transmission
00:52business through its live streaming and virtual currency features.
00:56TikTok said it strongly disagreed with the claims, quote, many of which we believe to
01:01be inaccurate and misleading.
01:03TikTok provides safety features, including default screen time limits and privacy defaults
01:09for minors under 16, the company said.
01:12The U.S. Justice Department sued TikTok in August for allegedly failing to protect children's
01:17privacy on the app.
01:19Other states previously sued TikTok for failing to protect children from harm, including Utah
01:24and Texas.
01:26TikTok on Monday rejected the allegations in a court filing.
01:30TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is battling a U.S. law that could ban the
01:36app in the United States.
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