Virginia AG Miyares joins nationwide bipartisan investigation into TikTok

Investigation will focus on the techniques utilized by TikTok to boost engagement among its young users

The TikTok app logo appears in Tokyo on Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) (Kiichiro Sato, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Virginia is joining a nationwide investigation into social media platform TikTok and its impact on children and young adults.

Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that Virginia is joining other attorneys general as part of a bipartisan investigation examining whether the company violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk.

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“Virginia has officially joined a bipartisan, nationwide investigation into TikTok’s platform and its effect on the mental and physical health of kids and young people. Our children are in the midst of a mental health crisis, and the negative effects of social media platforms like TikTok on our youth have raised concerns for some time,” said Attorney General Miyares.

The investigation will focus, among other things, on the techniques utilized by TikTok to boost young user engagement, including increasing the duration of time spent on the platform and frequency of engagement with the platform, according to Miyares’ office.

Attorneys General from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont are leading the investigation and joined by a broad group of Attorneys General from across the country.

This isn’t the first time that Attorneys General from across the nation have joined forces against social media.

In May 2021, a bipartisan coalition of 44 Attorneys General urged Facebook to abandon its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under 13.

In November 2021, Attorneys General from across the country announced their investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, for providing and promoting its social media platform Instagram to kids.