TikTok gave teens a reset button that did nothing, New York lawsuit says

TikTok gave thousands of users, including teenagers and children, a version of its “Algo Refresh” safety tool that did not work, according to a newly unsealed lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Reuters reported the allegations on 7 October. The users believed their recommendations had been reset, but their feeds stayed the same.

Algo Refresh lets people wipe their recommendations when they want to get away from unwanted or harmful videos. The complaint says TikTok ran these “ghost” tests repeatedly in 2023. It compared users who got the working tool with those who got the empty one. The aim was to see how long they stayed in the app and how ad revenue changed.

A TikTok product manager objected to the placebo group

According to the lawsuit, a product manager on TikTok’s digital well-being team warned that the tests could mislead users. In an internal chat quoted in the complaint, the manager wrote that a placebo group “completely conflicts” with the tool’s purpose. The suit also says TikTok described Algo Refresh as a full reset when the change was only temporary.

The complaint also describes separate tests in which TikTok switched off safety features for randomly chosen users. Bloomberg reported on these tests earlier. The lawsuit links them to the death of a New York teenager.

A TikTok spokesperson said the company regularly tests features “to validate the experience and understand how they work in the real world”. TikTok said the claims misrepresent how Algo Refresh works. It has denied New York’s allegations in court.

More than two dozen US states are suing TikTok

New York filed its case in 2024. The test details come from an updated complaint filed at the end of August, which a judge ordered unsealed. It is one of more than two dozen state lawsuits claiming TikTok designed its app to hook children. In September TikTok settled the first of these cases due for trial. It agreed to pay Alabama up to $300 million and change its app for teens there.

Feed controls are under pressure in other countries too. Australia is weighing a legal right to switch off social media algorithms. TikTok itself has clashed with Meta over ads about teen safety limits.

Brands that target teens on TikTok can check one setting today

The age targeting in TikTok Ads Manager shows whether a campaign reaches 13-to-17-year-olds. Brands that sell to that group can open it now and decide whether those users still belong in their 2027 media plans while the New York case runs.