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TikTok is fighting on several fronts. Not only is he locked in a fight for his life with the federal government as he awaits his day in front of the Supreme Court next week, but he also has the Utah Attorney General breathing down his neck. Bloomberg also found a case in which a federal judge said TikTok knew its Live streaming feature was a breeding ground for all kinds of vulgar and lewd behavior, including child rearing.
The case reveals two internal investigations that TikTok launched into the incident on its Live platform. The first, Project Meramec, found that there were young users who engaged in sexual activities on the streams, which were done in exchange for real gifts given to them by viewers.
At the time of the investigation, TikTok’s policy prohibited users who were 16 years of age or younger from broadcasting on Live, and prohibited users under 18 from sending or receiving gifts that could be redeemed for cash. However, this pressure did not decrease: the company’s internal analysis found that 112,000 fewer users received livestreams within a month in 2022. On top of this, the company found that its algorithm was increasing sex, so that those of a younger age are encouraged . for the viewers. There’s no real reason to wonder why this is happening: TikTok takes a cut of every gift purchased. Users who earn more gifts also earn more money for TikTok.
A second internal investigation, called Project Jupiter, looked at money laundering activities taking place using TikTok’s livestreaming service. The investigation found that some criminals used TikTok Live to transfer money, while others sold drugs and illegal services in exchange for gifts. Internal communications between TikTok employees revealed discussions about how Live may have been used to support terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.
TikTok’s research on young users followed a survey published by Forbes which found many examples of adult users who lure girls into sexual activities on TikTok Live in exchange for gifts. Leah Plunkett, assistant dean at Harvard Law School, told Forbes that “it’s the digital equivalent of walking down the street to a club full of 15-year-olds.”
It’s not the first time that TikTok’s lack of discretion, especially when it comes to things that affect children, has landed the company in hot water. Back in 2022, the US Department of Homeland Security started an investigation in TikTok how they work for children. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice sued the company for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, alleging that the company knowingly allowed minors to create accounts and interact with adults on the platform.
TikTok is not the only site that has a problem with child exploitation. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Meta had problems get rid of pedophiles from Facebook and Instagram and that its algorithms were fast promote and direct users to baby food products. Twitter, led by Elon Musk, he messed up his management team monitoring of child sexual abuse child pornography commercial networks get out of the platform with effort to block users who have been deleted by sending child abuse products.
It’s possible that no platform is perfect, really.
