State AGs demand TikTok comply with US consumer protection investigations
FirstpostCalifornia Attorney General Rob Bonta said the petition alleges TikTok has failed to preserve some potentially relevant evidence, in the form of internal employee chat messages “and is hampering the investigation of Tennessee and other states across the country, including California.” Washington: A group of 45 state attorneys general in the United States on Monday demanded Chinese-owned social media app TikTok produce subpoenaed materials sought in an ongoing nationwide consumer protection investigation. The states are seeking to review internal TikTok communications to determine whether the company engaged in deceptive conduct that harmed mental health of TikTok users, particularly children and teens, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the petition alleges TikTok has failed to preserve some potentially relevant evidence, in the form of internal employee chat messages “and is hampering the investigation of Tennessee and other states across the country, including California.” TikTok did not immediately comment. In March 2022, eight states including California and Massachusetts, said they had launched a bipartisan, nationwide probe of TikTok, focusing on whether the popular video-sharing app causes physical or mental health harm to young people.