California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release. "We know this takes a devastating toll on children’s mental health and well-being."Bonta said the investigation aims determine if TikTok is violating the law in promoting its platform to young people.Government officials and child-safety advocates maintain that TikTok’s computer algorithms pushing video content to users can promote eating disorders and even self-harm and suicide to young viewers.TikTok has said it focuses on age-appropriate experiences, noting that some features, such as direct messaging, are not available to younger users.
The company says it has tools in place, such as screen-time management, to help young people and parents moderate how long children spend on the app and what they see.RELATED: Group calls on TikTok to add 'mirror' feature for parents to see kids' feedsNationwide TikTok challenge causes several school districts to take heightened precautions"We care deeply about building an experience that helps to protect and support the well-being of our community, and appreciate that the state attorneys general are focusing on the safety of younger users," the company said Wednesday. "We look forward to providing information on the many safety and privacy protections we have for teens."Early last year, after federal regulators ordered TikTok to disclose how its practices affect children and teenagers, the platform tightened its privacy practices for users under 18.As its popularity has swelled, TikTok has come under a barrage of criticism from state officials, federal regulators, consumer advocates and lawmakers of both parties.