The news: Leaked documents reveal that ByteDance was aware that children using its TikTok service could become addicted within 35 minutes. This discovery could affect ongoing legislation to ban the short video service in the US and Europe, per Forbes.
Kentucky Public Radio discovered the documents after they were improperly redacted. They included summaries of internal studies and communications between TikTok executives.
Damning evidence of TikTok’s addictive qualities: Under the legal agreement, ByteDance had to supply internal reports to 13 states and the District of Columbia—but these would remain confidential in the case filed last week accusing TikTok of violating consumer protection laws.