TikTok accused of secretly testing algorithms on teens
What's the story
New York Attorney General Letitia James has leveled new allegations against TikTok Inc. in a child safety lawsuit. The accusations stem from a Bloomberg Businessweek report, which revealed that the social media giant conducted an algorithmic test in 2021. The experiment affected around 15 million US users, including one teenager who died by suicide.
Experiment details
Algorithmic test to see if it would reduce time spent
The algorithmic test conducted by TikTok involved withholding a new safety feature from 10% of US users.
The aim was to see if this change would reduce the time spent on the platform.
"As a result, TikTok has subjected users whom TikTok included in such A/B tests to an experience that TikTok has made less safe by design," James said in her amended lawsuit.
Company stance
TikTok denies tests make platform less safe
In a court filing, TikTok confirmed that it conducts tests on its platform that "may involve a portion of platform traffic that continued to receive the original experience."
However, the company denied these tests make the platform less safe for those users.
This comes as part of New York's lawsuit against TikTok, one of more than a dozen states accusing the company of designing its platform to be addictive for children while misleading users about its safety.
Test controversy
Lawsuit highlights misleading placebo tests on safety feature 'Algo Refresh'
The New York lawsuit also accuses TikTok of conducting misleading placebo tests on its safety features.
These tests involved thousands of young users, including minors, who tried to activate a feature called 'Algo Refresh.'
Despite thinking they had activated the tool, their feeds remained unchanged compared to users with the actual feature.
The lawsuit highlights that this led to a teen boy's death after being shown harmful content.
Employee feedback
Internal concerns about placebo tests flagged by product manager
The lawsuit also reveals that a product manager for Digital Well Being at TikTok flagged the placebo tests on the Algo Refresh feature as problematic.
They said users might find it misleading, noting "This feature is about algorithm transparency and control."
Despite these internal concerns, the company continued with the tests on thousands of users in 2023 to study user retention and ad revenue impact.
Miscommunication
TikTok misled users about how 'Algo refresh' worked, lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit also alleges that TikTok misled consumers about how "Algo Refresh" worked, claiming it would reset the algorithm recommending videos when it was only a temporary change.
The company has denied these allegations, saying they mischaracterize how "Algo Refresh" works.
This is part of a larger pattern of lawsuits against social media companies like Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc., and Google's YouTube over similar allegations related to youth safety on their platforms.