Thousands of Users Were Shown a TikTok Safety Tool That Did Not Work, Lawsuit Claims

New York state is accusing TikTok of showing thousands of users tools that did not work and merely gave the impression of being safety features. Children and teenagers also participated in the test. The allegations are included in an updated version of the lawsuit the state filed in 2024. The document, which was previously kept confidential, was later made public by a judge’s order.

The test involved a tool called “Algo Refresh.” The feature was designed to reset recommendations and reduce the appearance of unwanted and potentially harmful posts in the feed. Although some users believed they had activated the feature, nothing changed in their feeds. The recommendations of users who received the fully functional version of the tool were refreshed.

The court document alleges that TikTok presented the “Algo Refresh” feature as a tool that permanently reset recommendations. In reality, the change was temporary. A product manager for “Digital Well Being” also expressed concern about the test within the company. In the manager’s view, creating a placebo group in which the feature did not work ran counter to the goal of algorithmic transparency and user control. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok also hid other safety updates from some users.

In one such test, a safety feature was hidden from 15 million US users. The document states that the group included a teenager who later died by suicide. TikTok spokesperson Nathaniel Brown said the company regularly tests products and features to understand how they work in real-world conditions. The case brought by New York state is based on allegations that the company encouraged addictive use among children and made false claims about safety. States have filed more than 24 such cases against TikTok.