TikTok Safety Test Scrutinized
Senators Demand Answers From TikTok Over Experiment That Withheld Safety Features From Minors
Key Points
Chase Nasca, the 16-year-old in the control group, was from Bayport, New York, and was randomly selected for the algorithm experiment on January 25, 2022.
The control group consisted of about 15 million U.S. users (roughly 10% of the user base), kept with the safety feature disabled to gauge engagement effects.
The safety safeguard in question was intended to break up online echo chambers by limiting exposure to harmful content, and the experiment deliberately withheld this feature from the control group to test its impact on engagement.
The internal document describing the test was handed over in litigation against major social-media companies and is said to be under a court-ordered seal.
The disclosures come amid broader scrutiny of social-media safety practices and are being used by Blackburn and Blumenthal, who co-sponsor a child-safety bill, to push for accountability and reforms.
Two U.S. senators have given TikTok until September 1 to explain a 2021-2022 safety experiment that deliberately withheld a protective feature from roughly 15 million users. The experiment is now linked to the death of a 16-year-old who was fed videos about sadness, suicide, and loneliness within weeks of being placed in the control group The Record. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal called the decision "depraved" and say it raises serious questions about TikTok's safety promises to Congress and parents TechCrunch.
The 13-question demand comes as part of a broader push for online child safety legislation. A confidential 2023 company document, revealed by Bloomberg Businessweek and surfaced in litigation, first disclosed the test and the fact that minors were included TechBuzz. The senators want to know who approved the experiment, why children were part of it, and details about similar safety tests Yahoo.
A Teenager Left Unprotected in the Test
Chase Nasca, 16, from Bayport, New York, was randomly selected for TikTok's algorithm experiment on January 25, 2022. He landed in the control group—the 15 million U.S. users (about 10% of the platform) who had a safety safeguard deliberately turned off Whalesbook. The disabled feature was designed to break up harmful echo chambers by limiting exposure to disturbing content.
Within a month of the experiment starting, Nasca died by suicide The Record. According to the internal document, his feed had been filled with content about sadness, suicide, and loneliness. The senators argue TikTok knowingly exposed vulnerable minors to harmful material to measure whether removing safety protections would boost engagement TechCrunch.
What TikTok Was Testing and Why
The safety safeguard in question was meant to limit how often the algorithm fed users content about self-harm. TikTok disabled it for the control group to test whether removing the guardrail would increase user engagement and time spent on the app TechBuzz. This is a standard A/B testing practice in tech—but the ethics become murky when the test involves children and harmful content.
The internal 2023 document describing the test was handed over during litigation against major social media companies The Record. That document is now under a court-ordered seal, which is why details have remained largely hidden until Bloomberg Businessweek's recent reporting brought them to light Yahoo.
Lawmakers Push for Answers and Accountability
Blackburn and Blumenthal are co-sponsors of the Kids Online Safety Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting children online. They're using the TikTok disclosure to strengthen their case for new rules. The 13 questions demand details on who knew about the experiment, how TikTok chose to include minors, and a complete list of all similar safety-related tests TechCrunch.
TikTok has not publicly commented on the allegations. The September 1 deadline signals congressional frustration with the platform's transparency. If TikTok fails to provide satisfactory answers, it could face increased regulatory scrutiny and potential new legislation that limits how social media companies can test features on young users The Record.
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