New York
CNN
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A screen time limits tool on TikTok isn’t working to limit teen use, the company’s own analysis shows, according to unredacted documents accidentally revealed as part of a major lawsuit.

The documents, obtained by Kentucky Public Radio (KPR) and reported in partnership with NPR, show TikTok executives “speaking candidly about a host of dangers to children” on the video-sharing app, media reported Friday, including time management tools that barely work to reduce the time spent on the app.

One issue centers on TikTok’s effects on teens who spend hours scrolling through the app, which could be detrimental to their mental health. Following public scrutiny of the app’s effects on vulnerable people, TikTok has released time management tools for users under the age of 18. For example, if a 60-minute limit is reached, users will be prompted to enter a passcode, requiring them to make an active decision to extend their time in the app.

In the internal documents obtained by NPR and KPR, TikTok executives measured the tool’s usefulness based on its ability to improving “audience trust in the TikTok platform through media reporting” rather than actually reducing time spent using the app.

A quote from a TikTok project manager in the documents said the “goal is not to reduce time spent,” and another employee said the goal is to “contribute to DAU (daily active users) and retention” of users.

The tool only caused an outage of about a minute and a half when used daily, and the company made no effort to fix the problem, the 14 attorneys general said in a lawsuit filed earlier this week.

TikTok has also deployed videos that encourage users to take breaks. However, one executive in the documents called them “helpful in having a good conversation” with lawmakers and admitted that “they are not entirely effective.”

“Unfortunately, this complaint picks on misleading quotes and takes outdated documents out of context to misrepresent our commitment to community safety,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “We have robust safety measures in place, including proactively removing suspected underage users, and we have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screen time limits, family linking, and default privacy for minors under 16. We support these efforts.”

On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country filed lawsuits against TikTok, claiming the platform has “addicted” young people and harmed their mental health.

The lawsuits target several elements of the TikTok platform, including its endlessly scrolling content feed, TikTok “challenge” videos that sometimes encourage users to engage in risky behavior, and nightly push notifications that attorneys general claim could disrupt children’s sleep disrupt. .

Friday’s report from NPR and KPR came after the Kentucky attorney general’s office accidentally filed unredacted versions of its legal filing against TikTok. A state judge later sealed the complaint “to ensure that all settlement documents and related information, confidential commercial and trade secrets, and other protected information were not improperly disseminated,” according to NPR.

“We strongly disagree with these claims, many of which we believe are inaccurate and misleading,” TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said in an earlier statement. “We are proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we have done to protect teens and we will continue to update and improve our product. We provide robust security measures, proactively remove suspected underage users and have voluntarily launched safety features.”