The legal complaint alleges that while some users received a fully operational version of the tool, test subjects were left with a placebo interface that failed to alter their recommendations. This deception is part of a broader legal campaign involving two dozen states accusing the platform of engineering addictive habits and prioritizing engagement over child safety.
New York Lawsuit Claims TikTok Deployed 'Placebo' Safety Features
Thousands of teenagers and children using TikTok were misled by a fake safety tool, according to a lawsuit filed by New York state. While users believed they had activated the 'Algo Refresh' feature to scrub harmful content from their feeds, the company allegedly left the functionality disabled during an internal experiment.
TikTok maintains that it regularly tests new products to validate user experiences in real-world scenarios. However, this is not the first time the company has faced scrutiny over its experimental practices. Bloomberg previously reported that a separate test withheld safety features from 15 million U.S. users, a group that included a teenager who later died by suicide. The ongoing litigation highlights a widening gap between the platform's public safety promises and its behind-the-scenes product testing protocols.
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