TikTok allegedly gave thousands of children and teenagers non-functional versions of a safety feature in experiments examining time spent on the platform and advertising revenue, according to a newly unsealed New York court filing.
The amended complaint, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, claims users who activated tools such as 'Algo Refresh' believed their feeds had been reset to help them avoid unwanted or potentially harmful videos. However, some allegedly received placebo versions that left their recommendations unchanged.
The allegations raise fresh questions about TikTok's approach to child safety, particularly after an internal product manager reportedly warned that the experiments conflicted with the platform's stated commitment to algorithm transparency and user control.
Children Given Fake Safety Features
According to the complaint, TikTok conducted so-called 'ghost' or placebo experiments involving thousands of users throughout 2023, including children and teenagers who attempted to activate safety features.
#WIONNewspoint | TikTok faces lawsuit over 'ghost' tests
— WION (@WIONews) October 8, 2026
TikTok users given fake safety features
Some users' feeds didn't change after using algo refresh @BislaDiksha gets you more pic.twitter.com/qXbV5D8wgs
One tool under scrutiny is 'Algo Refresh', which allows users to reset their video recommendations.
The lawsuit alleges that some users were given a non-functional version of the feature. Although they believed they had activated the reset, their feeds allegedly remained unchanged, unlike those of users who received the working version.
The complaint claims the experiments were designed to measure how the feature affected time spent on the platform and advertising revenue.
TikTok Employee Raised Alarm
Court documents cited in reporting on the case indicate that a product manager on TikTok's Digital Well-being team raised concerns about the ethics of the placebo experiments.
In an internal message quoted in the complaint, the employee reportedly wrote: 'This feature is about algorithm transparency and control. A placebo group completely conflicts with that.'
The warning highlights the tension between testing a product's performance and ensuring users receive the safety controls they believe they have activated.
The lawsuit alleges that TikTok repeatedly conducted the tests throughout 2023 despite the concerns raised internally.
TikTok Disputes Safety Allegations
The allegations form part of a wider legal battle over TikTok's impact on young users. James first sued the platform in 2024, accusing it of encouraging addictive use among children and teenagers and misleading the public about its safety practices.
A judge ordered the release of an amended complaint filed under seal in late August, bringing the latest allegations into public view. More than two dozen states have brought legal actions accusing TikTok of encouraging addictive use among young people and misleading users about its safety practices.
TikTok has defended its product-testing practices, saying it regularly tests new features to assess how they work in real-world conditions.
'We continuously make improvements to our platform which means that, like most companies, we regularly test new products and features to validate the experience and understand how they work in the real world,' a company spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
TikTok has rejected New York's allegations, maintaining that the lawsuit misrepresents its practices and that protecting younger users remains a priority.
In September, the company agreed to pay Alabama up to $300 (£226.58) million to settle a separate state lawsuit, which also included commitments to change how its platform functions for teenagers in the state.
Lawsuit Questions Algo Refresh Claims
The New York complaint also challenges how TikTok described the effects of Algo Refresh.
The lawsuit alleges that the feature was presented as a way to reset recommendations, but that its effects were temporary rather than a lasting change to the user's feed.
This allegation raises questions about whether users' expectations of the feature matched the changes it actually made to their recommendations.
TikTok has disputed the complaint's characterisation of the feature, arguing that the lawsuit misrepresents how Algo Refresh works.
The allegations have not been established as findings of wrongdoing by a court.
Separate Tests Allegedly Disabled Safety Filters
The newly disclosed documents also describe a separate experiment in which TikTok allegedly withheld a safety feature from randomly selected users, limiting protections intended to reduce exposure to harmful content.
Bloomberg previously reported that this separate experiment involved a control group comprising 10% of TikTok's US users, estimated at approximately 15 million people at the time. The experiment dates back to 2021 and was intended to assess whether the safety measure affected how long users stayed on the platform.
According to reporting on the court documents, a teenage boy in New York was among those who did not receive the protection. He later died by suicide after being exposed to self-harm and suicide-related videos, according to Bloomberg's reporting on the experiment.
Reuters reported that internal reviews cited in the lawsuit found the teenager had been shown an 'onslaught' of self-harm and suicide-related content. The reporting does not, by itself, establish that the experiment caused his death.
The case has intensified scrutiny of how social media platforms test safety measures and assess the risks to young users.
The wider legal dispute raises questions about whether TikTok's testing practices and representations about its safety tools were consistent with the protections users were led to expect. TikTok denies the allegations.
