Press Releases
10/08/2024
Attorney General Tong Announces Escalating Efforts to Force TikTok Compliance with Active and Ongoing Investigation
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today announced escalating efforts to force TikTok’s compliance with the active and ongoing multistate investigation into harm to youth mental health.The multistate investigation began in 2022 to determine whether TikTok is violating state consumer protection laws in ways that have fueled the ongoing crisis in the mental health of children and teens. TikTok is not fully cooperating. Attorney General Tong today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in urging a Tennessee court to enforce its orders that require TikTok to comply with the multistate consumer protection investigation and to preserve and produce relevant evidence.
Today’s brief asserts that TikTok’s failure to preserve potentially relevant evidence and to produce information in a reasonably useable format is impeding the multistate investigation of TikTok. The brief emphasized that a resolution from the court is critical. Without it companies will increasingly be emboldened to destroy relevant evidence which will materially hinder states’ ability to protect their residents.
This is the second time Connecticut and the multistate coalition have taken such action. Connecticut last year joined 46 states filing an amicus brief in support of Tennessee when it sought an enforcement action in state court to compel TikTok to comply with its requests. The court has twice ordered TikTok to produce responsive documents and witnesses for deposition, but TikTok has failed to fully comply with these orders.
“Today we are escalating efforts to force TikTok’s compliance with our active and ongoing investigation. Let me be clear-- cooperation with a state law enforcement investigation is not optional. Twice we have secured court orders forcing TikTok’s compliance. Yet we continue to have serious ongoing concerns regarding destruction of evidence and other actions to impede our investigation. One way or another, we are going to uncover exactly what TikTok knew about the risks to our kids, and what they have done—or failed to do—to protect American youth. In coordination with attorneys general across the country, we will not hesitate to use the full weight of our enforcement authority to hold TikTok accountable,” said Attorney General Tong.
In parallel with the coalition’s amicus filing, more than a dozen states also filed state court lawsuits against TikTok today. While these states pursue litigation, the states joining the amicus brief will continue to use their investigatory powers to understand the full scope of TikTok’s conduct and potential consumer protection violations.
Also joining the amicus brief are the attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
In addition to the ongoing investigation into TikTok, Attorney General Tong has joined 45 states and the District of Columbia in bringing coordinated suits against Meta alleging that the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and its other social media platforms that purposefully addict children and teens. At the same time, Meta was falsely assuring the public that these features are safe and suitable for young users. The attorneys general assert that Meta’s business practices violate state consumer protection laws and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). These practices have harmed and continue to harm the physical and mental health of children and teens and have fueled what the U.S. Surgeon General has deemed a “youth mental health crisis” which has ended lives, devastated families, and damaged the potential of a generation of young people.
Special Counsel for Media and Technology Lauren Bidra, Assistant Attorneys General Tess Shaw, Krislyn Launer and Ashley Meskill, and paralegal specialist Casey Rybak assisted the Attorney General in this matter.
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
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