TikTok to launch meditation feature as lawsuits – Business News
TikTok stated it’s launching a meditation feature on its platform for all teen customers as it faces a number of lawsuits accusing it of harming youngsters’s mental health with addictive options and harmful content material.
The Meditation in Sleep Hours feature can be robotically switched on for all customers underneath 18, the ByteDance-owned social media platform stated in a press release Thursday.
If a teen makes use of TikTok after 10 p.m., their For You feed can be interrupted by a guided meditation to help them wind down for a higher night time’s sleep. If they proceed to scroll, their feed can be interrupted by a second, full-screen immediate.
TikTok on Thursday stated it’s launching a meditation feature on its platform for all teen customers. REUTERS
Adult customers can activate the feature from the Screen Time settings web page.
The new feature is comparable to one other one the video-sharing platform has been testing that interrupts teen customers’ feeds with calming music and a video encouraging them to take a break.
The company additionally stated it was making a $2.3 million donation in advert credit to 31 mental health teams around the globe.
The strikes come amid lawsuits, as properly as backlash from politicians and mental health advocates, that accuse TikTok of being deliberately addictive and for stealing minors’ personal data.
In October, 14 attorneys normal, led by officers in New York and California, filed lawsuits accusing the platform of damaging younger customers’ mental health and stealing their personal data with out consent.
Government officers, together with former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, have warned the app contributes to high charges of despair and nervousness in US teenagers.
TikTok has denied the claims, saying it has safeguards in place for younger customers and that it has labored with the attorneys normal through the years.
While TikTok says customers should be at the least 13 to create an account, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission in August filed a civil lawsuit accusing TikTok and ByteDance of gathering personal data from youngsters underneath this age restrict.
The teen security options come as a number of lawsuits have criticized the platform’s dangerous influence on younger customers. AP
The swimsuit alleged the app had inadequate tips in place to determine and delete accounts created by youngsters.
TikTok and ByteDance didn’t instantly reply to The Post’s requests for remark.
President Trump has long taken goal at TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company, over national security considerations, first making an attempt to ban the platform in 2020 during his first time period.
The app went offline for much less than 24 hours earlier this 12 months after the Supreme Court upheld a law to ban TikTok until ByteDance divested its stake to a US-based company.
Trump signed an government order to revive the app, and has repeatedly delayed the ban’s deadline, which has now been prolonged to June.
