Public Warning Notice: WARNING for TikTok! And also of course think other social media. (2024-10-11)
Just heard a brand-new report from NPR (National Public Radio this morning Fri Oct 11, 2024, while on a morning walk in a gorgeous Austin.)
On an accidentally released document with lots of really damning internal statements from within TikTok, employees and executives. Which paints a pretty seriously bad picture!
States probed TikTok for years. Here are the documents the app tried to keep secret
October 11, 20245:30 AM ET
https://www.npr.org/2024/10/11/g-s1-27676/tiktok-redacted-documents-in-teen-safety-lawsuit-revealed
Some snippets for you to get some idea of how bad it is, why “you” really need to give use of social media another thought.
For your kids, as applicable, for yourself, for relatives, friends, and everyone else.
And yes, focus here is TikTok but be aware social media companies in general are very coy with how potentially damaging their services can be.
“Do as I say, not as I do”, could be coming from Silicon Valley executives.
A bit summary of how the guys and gals behind all tech are parenting their own kids.
With severely limiting or prohibiting their kids from using social media like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter X, et c. (See also Top 10 .. below.)
Do your own research on executives and children: https://www.google.com/search?q=silicon+exective+children+and+social+media
Cheers,
J-R2024-10-11 States probed TikTok for years. Here are the documents the app tried to keep secret, NPR
(I can’t find the actual single podcast yet, suspect yet only part of daily news but keep an eye at https://www.npr.org/
==== Snippets, by J-R, only to highlight some areas covered:
NPR reviewed all the portions of the suit that were redacted, which highlight TikTok executives speaking candidly about a host of dangers for children ..
Kentucky AG: TikTok users can become ‘addicted’ in 35 minutes
As TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users can attest, the platform’s hyper-personalized algorithm can be so engaging it becomes difficult to close the app. TikTok determined the precise amount of viewing it takes for someone to form a habit: 260 videos. After that, according to state investigators, a user “is likely to become addicted to the platform.”
In the previously redacted portion of the suit, Kentucky authorities say: “While this may seem substantial, TikTok videos can be as short as 8 seconds and are played for viewers in rapid-fire succession, automatically,” the investigators wrote. “Thus, in under 35 minutes, an average user is likely to become addicted to the platform.”
Another internal document found that the company was aware its many features designed to keep young people on the app led to a constant and irresistible urge to keep opening the app.
TikTok’s own research states that “compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety,” according to the suit.
In addition, the documents show that TikTok was aware that “compulsive usage also interferes with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/school responsibilities, and connecting with loved ones.”
…
The unredacted documents show that TikTok employees were aware that too much time spent by teens on social media can be harmful to their mental health. The consensus among academics is that they recommend one hour or less of social media usage per day.
..
Document: TikTok demoted people it deemed unattractive on its feed
The multi-state litigation against TikTok highlighted the company’s beauty filters, which users can overlay on videos to make themselves look thinner and younger or to have fuller lips and bigger eyes.
…
TikTok is aware of the harm these beauty filters can cause young users, the documents show.
…
Yet internal documents paint a very different picture, citing statements from top company executives who appear well-aware of the harmful effects of the app without taking significant steps to address it.
…
TikTok’s own research concluded that kids were the most susceptible to being sucked into the app’s infinitely flowing feed of videos. “As expected, across most engagement metrics, the younger the user, the better the performance,” according to a 2019 TikTok document.
…
New study shows just how Facebook’s algorithm shapes conservative and liberal bubbles
Untangling Disinformation
..
TikTok in crisis mode after report on TikTok Live being ‘strip club filled with 15-year-olds’
After a 2022 report on Forbes about underage kids stripping on TikTok’s live feature, the company launched its own investigation.
That’s when TikTok officials realized there was “a high” number of underage streamers receiving digital currency on the app in the form of a “gift” or “coin” in exchange for stripping — real money converted into a digital currency often in the form of a plush toy or a flower.
TikTok discovered “a significant” number of adults direct messaging underage TikTokkers about stripping live on the platform.
As part of this internal probe, TikTok officials found that in just one month, 1 million “gifts” were sent to kids engaged in “transactional” behavior.
In an understated assessment, one TikTok official concluded: “[O]ne of our key discoveries during this project that has turned into a major challenge with Live business is that the content that gets the highest engagement may not be the content we want on our platform.”
====
(PDF copy attached of full article. Not yet found an actual copy of non-redacted official court documents. Though might be a bit tricky as gone under lock of court order, as I interpret it all.)
====
Top 10 Social Media Platforms Compared
One overview of the currently ten largest platforms, with ownership within parentheses by J-R.
- Facebook (Meta)
- YouTube (Google)
- Instagram (Meta)
- TikTok (Chinese Gov., sure – others may claim something else)
- Snapchat (Snap, Inc)
- X (Twitter) (Elon Musk)
- Pinterest (public, NYSE:PINS)
- Reddit (Advance Publications, Condé Nast)
- LinkedIn (Microsoft)
- Threads (Meta)
—
NO INFORMATION FROM and INCLUDING J&P may be shared in any forms of social media without the written consent by J&P.