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TikTok’s Internal Instant Messages Subject of AG Requests in Ongoing Multistate Investigation

  • A coalition of 46 AGs filed an amicus brief asking a Tennessee court to compel TikTok, Inc. to comply with a request for information by the Tennessee AG, arguing the information sought is necessary to a multistate investigation into whether the social media company violated consumer protection laws by knowingly contributing to an ongoing mental health crisis among young people.
  • According to the AGs’ brief, a court order compelling TikTok to comply with the information requests is necessary because TikTok has refused to provide the investigating states with internal communications in a useable format.
  • The AGs allege that TikTok employees used an instant-messaging application called Lark to discuss potentially relevant information but that the company did not take reasonable steps to prevent the auto-deletion of some Lark messages, and further that it has provided messages to the investigating states in a format that makes them difficult to understand.