The State of Utah is accusing TikTok of allowing “virtual strip clubs” on its platform, leading to the sexual exploitation of minors, according to a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, accuses TikTok’s live-streaming feature called TikTok LIVE of letting adults give virtual currency to young users in exchange for “sexual solicitation and exploitation.” The lawsuit further alleges TikTok makes money off the exchange by taking a cut of each payment.
“TikTok has created a virtual strip club, allowing minors to be exploited across America by connecting innocent victims to predators in real-time. Adding insult to injury, Live facilitates money laundering while TikTok quietly charges fifty percent on every transaction to profit in the billions from the entire enterprise,” said Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. “Our investigation confirmed TikTok knows of the damage to young victims but it feels it makes far too much money to stop.”
A TikTok spokesperson told ABC4.com that the social media company has industry-leading policies and measures to help protect the safety and well-being of its underage users.
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Article URL : https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/utah-files-lawsuit-against-tiktok-over-virtual-strip-clubs/