Streaming on TikTok Live was used to exploit children, according to a newly filed unamended lawsuit from Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. According to the lawsuit, TikTok not only knew that TikTok Lives was exposing minors to messages of concern from adults, but also directly profited from some of the exchanges through TikTok Live’s virtual gifting system.
According to the investigation forbes According to the lawsuit, TikTok conducted its own review called “Project Meramec” on TikTok Live. The company found that “hundreds of thousands of children” were circumventing TikTok’s age restrictions by hosting live streams and interacting with adults.
Because TikTok pocketed a portion of digital gift sales from live streams, the company was technically making money by “trading futures” for “nudity and sexual acts” that occurred during the streams. And because TikTok’s algorithm favors live streams where virtual gifts are exchanged, some of these streams of sexual exploitation were distributed more widely than others, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit details “Project Jupiter,” another TikTok investigation that looked into whether TikTok Live’s gifting feature was used to launder money. As it turned out, it was. According to the lawsuit, the company discovered that “criminals were selling drugs and engaging in fraudulent activities” during the livestream.
When asked to comment on the lawsuit, TikTok shared the following statement:
The lawsuit ignores numerous proactive steps TikTok has voluntarily taken to support the safety and well-being of its community. Instead, the complaint distorts our commitment to the safety of our communities by cherry-picking misleading quotes and outdated documents and presenting them out of context.
Our efforts include strong safety protections and screen time limits for teen accounts that are enabled by default, a family pairing tool that allows parents to supervise their teens, strict live streaming requirements, and active enforcement of our ongoing community guidelines. I support it.
Utah’s AG filed an amended version of this lawsuit in June 2024, following a different lawsuit in 2023 involving the TikTok app’s addictive design. The Utah lawsuit isn’t the first time the company has been investigated for its handling of children’s safety. The FTC investigated TikTok’s handling of children’s privacy, and the app’s ban, which is now headed to the Supreme Court on appeal, was driven in part by concerns that the social video app could be used to influence children.
