Jefferson Reporter

U.S. Senator Katie Britt issued a statement following an NPR report that revealed TikTok executives prioritized profits over user well-being. The article discussed internal documents from a lawsuit by the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, part of a broader investigation involving 14 states. The documents indicated TikTok's awareness of its platform's potential negative mental health effects on teenagers.

Senator Britt expressed concern over the impact of social media on youth mental health, stating, "There is no doubt that our nation’s growing mental health crisis is inextricably tied to the rise of social media usage by children and teenagers." She criticized TikTok for ignoring these concerns and emphasized the need for congressional action to protect young people.

The NPR report highlighted that internal communications showed TikTok was aware of the app's addictive nature and its detrimental effects on users' mental health. Despite this knowledge, the company continued to implement ineffective safety measures.

Britt has focused on protecting adolescents from harmful social media impacts during her term. She co-sponsored several legislative efforts, including the Kids Off Social Media Act and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which passed the Senate recently. Additionally, she introduced the Stop the Scroll Act with Senator John Fetterman to mandate mental health warnings on social media platforms.

Furthermore, Britt collaborated with Senator Amy Klobuchar on the Youth Mental Health Research Act to establish a national initiative for youth mental health research. Earlier this year, she supported legislation aimed at forcing TikTok's divestiture from its Chinese parent company ByteDance as part of a National Security Supplemental Bill.