TikTok staff warned of child safety risks, executives failed to act, filings show

Court records obtained by NPR show TikTok employees repeatedly flagged child safety risks to leadership, including minors bypassing age restrictions and appearing in "transactional sexual content" on Live. The depositions were filed in federal court in March as part of a 2022 multi-district litigation against TikTok, Meta, Snap, and Google over harms to children.

• Reagen Maher flagged minors stripping on TikTok Live for convertible "gifts" to then-CEO V Pappas
• Eric Han raised concerns in 2020 about algorithm "rabbit holes" tied to suicidal ideation
• The depositions were filed in federal court in March in the 2022 litigation
• Han said TikTok failed to warn parents about potential dangers to their children