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A recent newly unredacted lawsuit filed by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes claims that TikTok Live streams were utilized to exploit minors. Reportedly, TikTok was not only aware that its Live platform was exposing minors to inappropriate messages from adults, but the company also profited directly from some interactions via TikTok Live’s virtual gifting system.
The suit mentions that following an investigation by Forbes, TikTok conducted its own review named “Project Meramec.” This review revealed that “hundreds of thousands of children” bypassed TikTok’s age restrictions, engaging in hosting livestreams and interactions with adults.
Since TikTok retains a portion of the digital gifts sold in livestreams, the company earned money from “transactional gifting” associated with “nudity and sexual activity” occurring during streams. Additionally, TikTok’s algorithm favored the widespread distribution of streams where virtual gifts were exchanged, allegedly increasing the reach of some of these exploitative streams.
The lawsuit also outlines another investigation by TikTok, “Project Jupiter,” looking into potential money laundering through TikTok Live’s gifting feature. The investigation found that it was indeed occurring, with “criminals selling drugs and running fraud operations” during livestreams, as claimed in the lawsuit.
Upon request for comment on the lawsuit, TikTok provided this statement:
This lawsuit disregards the proactive steps TikTok has taken to ensure community safety and well-being. The complaint selectively uses misleading quotes and old documents out of context, misrepresenting our dedication to community safety.
We uphold our efforts, which include comprehensive safety measures and default screen time limits for teenage accounts, Family Pairing tools for parental supervision of teens, strict livestreaming protocols, and vigorous enforcement of our Community Guidelines.
Utah’s AG initially filed the redacted lawsuit in June 2024, following another lawsuit from 2023 regarding TikTok’s addictive app design. This isn’t the first scrutiny TikTok faced over child safety. The FTC has examined TikTok’s approach to child privacy, with a ban of the app — now escalated to the Supreme Court on appeal — pushed by concerns about influencing children through the social video app.
