● Covered by 2 sources · 2 reportsMedium impact2 negative
Senators Question TikTok Over Experiment Disabling Safety Features for 15 Million Users
Key points
- TikTok disabled a safety feature for 15 million U.S. users.
- The experiment included minors in the control group.
- The safeguard prevented exposure to harmful content.
- Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal sent a letter to TikTok's CEO.
- The experiment's purpose was to assess impact on engagement.
Senators Demand Answers from TikTok
Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have sent a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Chew and Adam Presser, CEO of the company’s U.S. business, demanding answers regarding an experiment conducted by the company. The senators described TikTok's decision to run the experiment as "depraved."
Experiment Details
Bloomberg reported that TikTok intentionally disabled an algorithmic safeguard for 10% of its U.S. users, creating a control group for an experiment. This safeguard was designed to prevent users from being overwhelmed by harmful content. TikTok reportedly conducted the experiment to determine if the safeguard made the app less engaging.
Impact on Users
One individual in the control group was 16-year-old Chase Nasca, who died by suicide after his algorithm fed him thousands of videos about sadness, suicide, and loneliness. A company review found that Nasca had viewed over 7,500 videos related to sadness and suicide. The senators' letter criticized the company for "knowingly withheld a critical safety measure for millions of American users—including children—in order to determine whether protecting users would impact its financial bottom-line."
Questions Posed to TikTok
The senators are seeking answers to 13 questions concerning the experiment. These questions include inquiries about the names of every employee aware of the experiment and the rationale behind allowing minors to be part of the control group. They also requested a list of every algorithmic experiment conducted by the company.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
Two U.S. senators are demanding answers from TikTok regarding reports that the company intentionally disabled safety features for a subset of users to study the impact on engagement. This action raises concerns about user protection, especially for minors, and has prompted renewed calls for the Kids Online Safety Act.
Two U.S. senators have given TikTok a deadline to respond to questions regarding an experiment that disabled a safety feature for 15 million users, including a teenager who later died by suicide. The senators are questioning TikTok's decision to remove an algorithmic safeguard designed to prevent harmful content exposure, particularly its inclusion of minors in the control group.