FLORENCE, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2024) -- Attorney General Russell Coleman delivered the following remarks today at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce's Government Forum Luncheon regarding new litigation against TikTok for its addictive and harmful platform:
***As Prepared for Delivery***
"Thank you, Bob, and everyone at the Northern Kentucky Chamber for the invitation to be here today.
"This region sets an example of what we call “zealous collaboration.” From the elected leaders to law enforcement and even to organizations like this, Northern Kentucky is tearing down silos and working as one united partnership to succeed.
"I hope you each recognize that this collaboration doesn’t come naturally or easily. It’s the product of a lot of hard work and strategic leadership. And the end result is that Northern Kentucky punches above its weight.
"Right here, we see one of the most important bridge projects anywhere in the nation. A world-class airport. And an addiction treatment infrastructure that is second to none.
"It’s all because of collaboration, and it’s a lot to be proud of.
"I’m here first to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who made it possible for me to stand here today. I’m closing in on the end of my first year as your Attorney General. It’s been an honor to serve in this role, to protect this Commonwealth I love, and to work alongside dedicated public servants.
"So, let me start today with an update on our progress. We have certainly been busy delivering on our promises to Kentucky families.
- "We’re taking on violent crime and working with law enforcement to keep your community safe.
- "Just last month, we secured a 63-year conviction right here in Boone County for a man found guilty of child abuse and exploitation.
- "And we’re standing up a $15 million grant program to equip law enforcement with lifesaving body armor.
- "We’re combating the deadly drugs pouring over a wide-open border into Kentucky.
- "This region knows all-too-well the challenge of the drug crisis and has made incredible progress in building a comprehensive response.
- "Here in Boone County, we lost 35 individuals to a fatal overdose last year. In Kenton 80. And Campbell 26. A total of 141 sons and daughters stolen by this poison.
- "Kentucky’s Opioid Abatement Commission recently approved our proposal for a two-year, $3.6 million statewide prevention initiative. We’ll focus on reaching young people where they are to encourage them to live a better life without drugs.
- "And, we’re standing strong against the nonsensical and anti-business regulations from Washington.
- "The Biden-Harris Administration is coming after everything from our gas-powered cars to our competitive advantage in energy. Our Office is working with attorneys general across the country to stop the assault and keep Kentucky competitive.
- "The General Assembly invested $3 million in our Office for an Electric Reliability Defense Fund to fight the EV mandates and assault on our affordable and reliable energy.
"Today, in addition to giving an update on some of that work, I’d like to announce a major step our Office has taken this week to protect you and your children who use the most dangerous item in your home: this phone.
"Even if you lock your doors, have a security system, or even exercise your Second Amendment rights, this is like throwing your door wide open to predators and criminals.
"One of the defining priorities of our Administration is protecting Kentuckians from what we call the “War on Kids.” From across the country and around the globe, predators seek to exploit vulnerable children with heinous intentions. We’ve worked aggressively to target-harden our Commonwealth and show these bad actors that Kentucky is not the place they want to turn their attention.
"Taking on this challenge is no small effort.
"When I was President Trump’s United States Attorney for the Western District, we could have shut down our Office and worked nothing but these child exploitation cases… and been busy.
"The scale is massive, but so is our resolve.
"We’ve shown we take these crimes seriously. Our law enforcement is equipped. Our elected leaders are focused. And our punishments are serious.
"Here’s how we’re doing it.
"Even before I took the oath of office, I announced the creation of the first-ever Deputy Commissioner for Counter Exploitation in the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI). We hired a 20+ year law enforcement veteran to lead our effort and to provide resources and training to agencies across Kentucky as they face these threats. We are breaking down barriers and collaborating to protect every Kentucky child.
"During the last legislative session, we worked closely with two of Northern Kentucky’s finest legislators – Rep. Stephanie Dietz and Sen. Chris McDaniel – along with Kenton County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders – to pass a new law banning horrific AI-generated child sex abuse images and child sex dolls. Unfortunately, this problem, is all too real in this region. Now, law enforcement and prosecutors have the tools to crack down on this behavior and apprehend predators before they escalate to hands-on abuse.
"And finally, our Department of Criminal Investigations also brought on a four-legged detective. K9 Charity is specially trained to detect electronic storage devices – flash drives, phones, microUSBs – that could contain exploitation material. Charity is one of only four K9s in Kentucky with this training, and she’s helping law enforcement go after those who try to prey on Kentucky’s kids. In a short time, Charity has become a big hit, and we look forward to sharing more of her successes in the months ahead.
"These are big, important steps to protect our children. And I want each of you to know how seriously we take this challenge. You have courageous and talented professionals willing to stare into this darkness to keep our Commonwealth safe.
"I’m extremely proud of these steps we’ve taken to protect our Commonwealth.
***
"Unfortunately, the threat facing our children is more than criminals lurking on the street. It’s more than one or two bad actors hiding in an online chat room.
"Some of the largest and most powerful corporations on the planet are targeting Kentucky’s kids.
"Where we see our precious children, they see profit.
"Where we see innocence that, as parents, we want to guard for as long as possible, they see a market to addict and exploit.
"That’s why, I’d like to share our latest move to safeguard the children of our Commonwealth.
"Yesterday, Kentucky and about a dozen other states formally filed lawsuits against TikTok and its affiliated companies.
"We are dragging those behind this Chinese social media platform to court in Georgetown, Kentucky. We’ll force them to answer for creating and pushing an app designed specifically to addict and harm Kentucky’s children.
"TikTok is more than trendy dances or funny videos. It’s a specially crafted tool to suck in minors, leading to depression, anxiety, altered development, and more.
"We are going to bring those behind this app to Kentucky and hold them accountable.
"This is a collaborative effort with attorneys general – both Republicans and Democrats – across the country. Because this issue isn’t about Rs and Ds. It’s about protecting our children from predatory companies that inflict serious damage just to make a quick buck.
"Today, I came to Northern Kentucky – the exemplar of zealous collaboration – to share some of what states are alleging about TikTok and how that will help protect Kentucky kids and the future of our Commonwealth.
***
"There’s an old saying that if you’re not paying for a product, you are the product.
"Like many apps, TikTok makes money when you use it. The platform is selling your attention and your eyeballs to advertisers. It’s working, to the tune of approximately 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. and $9.4 billion in revenue.
"But TikTok isn’t just another app. It’s not.
"It was specifically designed to be an addiction machine, targeting children who are still in the process of developing appropriate self-control.
"The U.S. Surgeon General explained our young people and their growing brains are pitted against some of the best designers and product developers in the world. It’s not a fair fight.
"From its design elements to its engagement techniques, the platform manipulates dopamine releases in these young people to create excessive and compulsive use.
"One TikTok executive made the platform’s intentions very clear. He said, 'Teenagers in the U.S. are the golden audience.'
“'The golden audience.'”
"I think every parent in this room is with me in worrying about our kids’ screen time. And it turns out, our instincts are right.
"It doesn’t take much for our kids to fall headfirst into a digital world of unrealistic beauty standards, bullying and low self-esteem.
"Middle and high school are hard enough, without a multi-billion dollar platform making you believe there’s something wrong with you.
"And it happens faster than you think. It doesn’t take long for the bombardment of short, rapid-fire videos to lead our children down a path to anxiety and depression… to reduced sleep and attention deficit disorders… to missing out on being a teen because they’re glued to their phone.
"But that’s exactly what TikTok does to our kids… morning, noon and in the dead of night.
"Teens are talking about a physical “need” to log on… the same way an addict might talk about their illegal drug. Everything else—from food to sleep to activities to actual human connection—fall to a distant second place.
"There is a mental health crisis in this country fueled by social media addiction. Youth suicide rates are up an alarming 57%. The number of teens and adolescents sitting in emergency rooms for mental health treatment for suicide tripled across the nation.
"That alone should set off alarm bells for parents and policymakers.
"As these same young people might say, addiction is a feature, not a bug.
***
"We’ve all watched our teens get sucked into their screens for hours at a time.
"Once our kids are hooked, they become a cash cow. The more they use, the more they feed the algorithm. The better target they become for advertisers. The more they line TikTok’s pockets.
"And that’s why the platform targets this young audience.
"If they can get a young American hooked early, they see nothing but profit for years to come.
"Last year alone, TikTok estimated $240 million in advertising sales from Kentucky alone.
"Of course, the platform never wanted you to know this. They intentionally misled parents and the public about the steps they take to draw in young users and keep them addicted to TikTok.
"They put on a show about a safe and fun platform for teens. At the same time, they mined data on our children to hide the harm lurking just below the surface.
"For hours every day, our children are being fed a constant stream of addictive and potentially harmful content. It’s altering their brains, causing lasting damage, and robbing their childhoods.
***
"If you’ve followed this long, you probably agree that TikTok can negatively impact young people. But you may be asking, are the developers of the app really to blame for making something kids want to use?
"The answer is a definite yes. To illustrate the bad intentions behind the release of TikTok in the United States, let’s take a look at it’s use abroad.
"You might know that TikTok was created and is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance.
"This is where the problem starts. China is one of our nation’s greatest geo-political adversaries.
"Their military is aggressively pushing boundaries. Their theft of intellectual property harms businesses large and small. And China is behind the fentanyl pouring over our wide-open southern border and coming into communities just like this one to steal our sons and daughters.
"China’s actions are carefully calculated to give it a competitive edge over the United States. We must view TikTok in this context. It’s just another tool to weaken our nation and advance China’s aims.
"Case in point, just look at the ByteDance app available for China’s young people.
"That platform places extreme safety restrictions on how young people can use the app.
"In 'teenage mode,' users are only allowed access for 40 minutes per day from 6am – 10pm. Instead of the never ending stream of content addicting our kids, their videos are interrupted by 5-second delays. Videos are screened to ensure only “inspiring” content is shown to Chinese users.
"In fact, the Chinese app is most popular among people over 50 years old.
"Users in China see content focused on science, education and history. Our children see … well, you know… while making millions for the platform.
"As parents who want to see our children succeed and Americans who want to see our nation continue to prosper, this is a serious problem.
"For our families and for our national security, we must stop this calculated threat here.
***
"Most gruesome of all, TikTok has become a danger to more than just young people’s mental health. It’s put them in danger of real, physical harm as well.
"When word gets out about where young people are, bad actors are sure to follow.
"The National Center on Sexual Exploitation described TikTok as “the ‘platform of choice’ for predators to access, engage, and groom children for abuse.”
"In 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported that TikTok accounts registered to teenagers were shown videos from creators who labeled their content as “for adults only” including those recommending paid pornography sites and sex shops.
"When the Journal shared some of its findings with TikTok, a company spokesperson said a majority of the videos didn’t violate its guidelines and acknowledged that “the app doesn’t differentiate between videos it serves to adults and minors.”
"Without appropriate guardrails, our kids could be exposed to some of the darkest and most dangerous parts of the internet… all without leaving their bedrooms.
"The platform’s private videos feature has also been shown to be a place for predators to store, create, post and share child sex abuse material.
"Worse still, TikTok’s algorithm recognizes when a predator posts one of these horrific videos, and the platform actually amplifies other abusive posts for their profile.
"Despite public reporting and calls from advocates for action, TikTok has refused to address this blatant criminal activity.
"Why would they? Opening their platform to predators leads to more users and more eyeballs… and more profits.
"It must be stopped. And that’s what we aim to do through this lawsuit.
***
"This may not be the discussion you expected to hear over lunch today. It’s uncomfortable to think about the real danger. It would be so much easier if TikTok was only the dance videos we were led to believe.
"That reality just doesn’t exist. And if we don’t act, our children will suffer the very real consequences.
"Their mental, physical, and emotional health are on the line.
"It’s my hope that you take away one thing: the Attorney General’s Office is fully equipped and fully engaged in protecting your families and your children.
"Whether it is an individual predator or a massive corporation breaking our laws, our Office is prepared to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of our authority.
"We didn’t pick this fight for the headlines.
"We’re taking on this lawsuit to protect Kentucky’s future. We’re zealously collaborating with Republicans and Democrats across the country to end this conduct.
"So, we’ll see TikTok in court right here in Kentucky. We’ll stand strong for our young people.
"That’s exactly what we were elected to do.
"And next time I have the honor to speak here, I hope to give you another update on the progress we’ve made to make Kentucky the best place to live, work and raise a family.
"Thank you."
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