TikTok allegedly gave thousands of users, including teens and children, a nonfunctional version of its "Algo Refresh" safety feature while studying how the change affected engagement and advertising revenue, according to newly unsealed allegations.
TikTok Allegedly Tested Fake Safety Feature
The allegations are part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against TikTok, which accuses the company of designing its platform to keep young users engaged while misleading them about safety protections, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
According to the lawsuit, TikTok placed thousands of users who opted into Algo Refresh into "ghost" or placebo groups.
Those users believed the feature had reset their recommendations, but their feeds allegedly did not change as they did for users who received the working version.
The lawsuit claims TikTok repeatedly conducted the tests in 2023 to examine how changes to recommendations affected users’ time on the platform and advertising revenue.
An internal TikTok product manager reportedly objected to the approach, writing that a placebo group "completely conflicts" with the feature’s purpose of providing "algorithm transparency and control."
Lawsuit Raises Broader Safety Concerns
The lawsuit also alleges TikTok misrepresented how Algo Refresh worked, claiming the company presented it as an algorithm reset when the changes were temporary.
TikTok disputed the allegations, saying the claims mischaracterize how the feature operates. A company spokesperson said TikTok "regularly test[s] new products and features" to understand how they perform in real-world conditions.
TikTok did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
The unsealed complaint also describes separate experiments in which TikTok allegedly disabled safety protections for randomly selected users, potentially increasing their exposure to harmful content.
According to the lawsuit, a New York teenager involved in one such test was exposed to an "onslaught" of suicide and self-harm content before his death by suicide.
Notably, in July, the Justice Department reversed a 2022 federal ban, allowing employees to reinstall TikTok on government-issued devices, citing reduced security concerns after creating TikTok USDS.
The new joint venture is 80.1% owned by global investors, including Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL), while ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake.
TikTok has broadly denied the allegations in court filings and maintains that protecting young users is a priority.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: XanderSt / Shutterstock.com
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