US senators press TikTok over hidden test that delayed a safety feature
Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal are demanding TikTok explain why it withheld an algorithm safety feature from millions of users in 2021 to measure its effect on engagement. The letter follows reports that a teen who died by suicide was part of that test group.
US Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal have sent a pointed letter to TikTok's top executives demanding answers about how the company has tested — and in some cases withheld — safety features meant to protect users.
The letter follows a Bloomberg report on an experiment TikTok launched in 2021 tied to a feature designed to help users avoid so-called "filter bubbles," or repetitive clusters of content in the "for you" feed. At the time, TikTok said the update was meant to prevent users from seeing too much of a single content category in clusters, even if individual videos seemed harmless on their own.
A control group with tragic consequences
What TikTok did not disclose was that it deliberately withheld the feature from millions of users, using them as a "control group" to measure the update's impact on engagement. According to Bloomberg, one American teenager, Chase Nasca, died by suicide shortly after his account was placed in that control group. An internal TikTok document reportedly showed his account had been fed a repetitive stream of content related to suicide, self-harm and depression, particularly in the period leading up to his death.
What the senators are demanding
In their letter, Blackburn and Blumenthal are asking TikTok to disclose full details of this experiment and any similar ones, and to clarify whether the company has ever declined to roll out a safety feature over concerns about its effect on engagement or ad revenue. TikTok has been given until September 1 to respond.
Both senators have long pushed social media companies to adopt stronger protections for minors and are prominent backers of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). They note that the 2021 experiment began shortly after a TikTok policy official testified before Congress, where the two lawmakers had urged the company to do more to protect children on its platform. The senators call the revelations especially troubling because TikTok was already aware of the potential harms its recommendation algorithm could cause to young users. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
