New York alleges TikTok used placebo safety tools

New York Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit alleges that in 2023 TikTok gave thousands of users, including teens and children, nonfunctional versions of its Algo Refresh safety feature. Users who activated it believed their recommendations had reset; the suit says their feeds did not change. The allegations were unsealed Wednesday from an updated sealed complaint filed at the end of August and ordered open by a judge. James originally sued in 2024. The case is one of more than two dozen state lawsuits accusing TikTok of designing its platform to addict children. In September TikTok settled Alabama’s lawsuit for up to $300 million. The suit also alleges a separate test turned off safety features. It cites a Bloomberg report that a teen boy in New York who was part of the test died by suicide after exposure to self-harm and suicide content, and that internal reviews described an onslaught of that content shown to him. Contested: TikTok denies the allegations and says it routinely tests features and that young users’ safety is a priority. The lawsuit quotes a product manager writing that this feature is about algorithm transparency and control and that a placebo group completely conflicts with that.