A Saskatchewan toddler is suing TikTok for psychological damages

A joint investigation has found TikTok is not doing enough to keep Canadian children off the platform. Mike Le Couteur reports on the steps TikTok is taking.

A prospective class action lawsuit filed in Saskatchewan has put TikTok in the crosshairs, alleging the short-form video app targets children and causes psychological harm.

In a statement of claim obtained by CTV News, the plaintiffs take aim at the negative effects of TikTok’s endless scroll on the minds of young people, and its algorithm’s ability to amplify their vulnerabilities, stimulating a satisfying rush of dopamine to prolong the time spent on the platform in an addictive feedback loop.

Two law firms are behind the suit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance Ltd., Vancouver’s Rice Harbut Elliott LLP and the Regina-based Willows Wellsch Orr and Brundige LLP.

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A plaintiff in this case is a Sask. toddler, who was an infant at the time of filing.

“Among other harms, the defendants’ social media platforms facilitate cyberbullying, contribute to obesity and eating disorders, instigate sleep deprivation to achieve around-the-clock engagement, encourage or counsel high-risk behaviour, encourage children to negatively compare themselves to others and develop a broad discontentment for life, and have been connected to depression, anxiety, self-harm, and ultimately suicidal ideation and attempts,” the lawsuit alleges.

None of their allegations have been proven in court.

The suit, which has yet to be certified as a class action, is one in a wave of recent legal and regulatory actions against the company.

NPR reported in October 2024 that 14 U.S. states, led by New York and California, filed suit against the company, claiming it was deliberately designed to keep young people hooked on the service.

NPR reporters Bobby Allyn, Sylvia Goodman and Dara Kerr obtained internal reports from the Chinese-owned social media giant revealing the company was aware that children as young as 15-years-old were stripping on TikTok’s live feature, and adults were paying for it.

According to Allyn, Goodman and Kerr, TikTok even quantified the precise amount of viewing time it takes to form a habit — 260 videos.

Given some of those videos are only a few seconds long, they write you can be “addicted” in under 35 minutes.

According to NPR, a presentation shown to top company officials revealed an estimated 95 per cent of smartphone users under 17 used TikTok at least once a month.

A new Washington Post investigation corroborates the addictive nature of the app.

The Washington Post analyzed the viewing history of 800 TikTok users over a five-month period, finding that even occasional users had doubled the time they spent on the app by the end. Heavy users spent around four hours a day scrolling through their feed, the Post reports.

Last month, the federal, Quebec, Alberta and B.C. privacy commissioners released the results of a joint investigation into TikTok, which they launched in 2023.

They said in a media release that while the platform isn’t meant for kids under 13, they found hundreds of thousands of Canadian children use TikTok each year and the company collects and uses their personal information.

The privacy authorities said TikTok has agreed to strengthen its communications on privacy measures and enhance the use of age-assurance methods to ensure underage users don’t access the platform.

They noted the company also made some improvements to its practices during the investigation, but said they would continue to monitor the situation.

Privacy and safety concerns have swirled around TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance because of Chinese national security laws that compel domestic organizations to assist with intelligence gathering.

Last year, Canada’s federal government ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business following a national security review of ByteDance.

In the U.S., TikTok could soon be in the hands of a cadre of American billionaires hand-picked by the Trump administration, if a Sept. 25 executive order comes to fruition.

The executive order is the result of a Biden-era law prohibiting the foreign ownership of TikTok. The law threatened to ban the popular app in the U.S., but its implementation was repeatedly delayed.

A date for the certification hearing on the Sask. and B.C.-based class action lawsuit has not yet been set.

With files from The Canadian Press