[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-judge-unseals-tiktok-suit-over-fake-safety-features":10,"sections":42},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":30,"persona_id":30,"persona_name":30,"section":31,"tags":32,"sources":37,"feedback":41,"feedback_at":30,"cost_usd":41,"total_tokens":41},10792,"judge-unseals-tiktok-suit-over-fake-safety-features","Judge Unseals TikTok Suit Over Fake Safety Features","A newly unsealed lawsuit claims TikTok gave thousands of young users fake safety tools that looked active but did nothing.","TikTok allegedly handed out safety controls that looked switched on but didn't do anything.\n\nA newly unsealed, amended version of New York's 2024 lawsuit against TikTok alleges the company ran an experiment that gave thousands of users, including kids and teens, \"ghost\" versions of its safety features. One target was the option to reset a user's recommendation algorithm, a tool meant to help someone escape a feed that keeps surfacing harmful content. The filing says people in the experiment believed they'd switched the feature on, but the toggle didn't connect to anything behind the scenes. A judge ordered the amended complaint unsealed, making these specifics public for the first time.\n\nThat distinction matters more than it sounds. A safety feature that's broken is a bug. A safety feature that's designed to look active while doing nothing is a trust problem, and it lands hardest on the young users these controls were supposed to protect.\n\nDark patterns usually get discussed as checkout screens nudging you toward the pricier plan. This lawsuit argues TikTok built the same trick into the one button meant to protect kids.","[\"tiktok\",\"lawsuit\",\"child-safety\",\"new-york\"]","2026-10-08T16:53:49.000Z","2026-10-09T14:04:15.558Z","2026-10-17T21:39:06.392Z","published","Publisher: The dek says the tools went to 'thousands of young users,' but the body only says 'thousands of users, including kids and teens,' so the dek overstates the allegation and must be aligned with the body.",[24],{"id":25,"reviewer":26,"round":27,"reason":28,"status":29},"editor-r1","editor",1,"Fix the misattribution in paragraph one — the source says a judge ordered the amended lawsuit unsealed, not that the attorney general unsealed it — and add the source's concrete figure (thousands of users, including kids and teens) rather than the vaguer 'certain users, including minors.'","resolved",null,"policy",[33,34,35,36],"tiktok","lawsuit","child-safety","new-york",[38],{"name":39,"url":40},"The Verge","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theverge.com\u002Ftech\u002F1008112\u002Fnew-york-tiktok-lawsuit-placebo-safety-features",0,{"sections":43},[44,49,54,58,63,68,73,78,83,88,93,98,103,108],{"name":45,"slug":46,"count":47,"latest_published_at":48},"AI","ai",7038,"2026-10-17T19:58:31.000Z",{"name":50,"slug":51,"count":52,"latest_published_at":53},"Security","security",1001,"2026-10-17T22:20:00.000Z",{"name":55,"slug":31,"count":56,"latest_published_at":57},"Policy",538,"2026-10-17T19:38:12.000Z",{"name":59,"slug":60,"count":61,"latest_published_at":62},"Deals","deals",521,"2026-10-17T07:00:00.000Z",{"name":64,"slug":65,"count":66,"latest_published_at":67},"Hardware","hardware",260,"2026-10-17T19:55:36.000Z",{"name":69,"slug":70,"count":71,"latest_published_at":72},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",235,"2026-10-16T23:36:26.000Z",{"name":74,"slug":75,"count":76,"latest_published_at":77},"Science","science",202,"2026-10-16T11:00:53.000Z",{"name":79,"slug":80,"count":81,"latest_published_at":82},"Startups","startups",133,"2026-10-14T19:51:34.000Z",{"name":84,"slug":85,"count":86,"latest_published_at":87},"Software","software",128,"2026-10-14T22:23:48.000Z",{"name":89,"slug":90,"count":91,"latest_published_at":92},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",116,"2026-10-13T16:20:18.000Z",{"name":94,"slug":95,"count":96,"latest_published_at":97},"General","general",81,"2026-10-16T16:06:38.000Z",{"name":99,"slug":100,"count":101,"latest_published_at":102},"Gaming","gaming",77,"2026-10-17T16:59:39.000Z",{"name":104,"slug":105,"count":106,"latest_published_at":107},"Reviews","reviews",37,"2026-10-14T10:00:00.000Z",{"name":109,"slug":110,"count":111,"latest_published_at":112},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]