Montana TikTok Investigation
Montana TikTok Investigation
YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to respond in writing to the demands for infor-
mation contained herein and to produce or otherwise make available for examination
and copying the documents requested herein. This Investigative Demand consists of
forty-four (44) pages total.
Your responses and document production must be made in accordance with the en-
closed instructions. Your responses also must be made under oath by having one or
more authorized persons complete and have notarized the verification form provided
herein. Submit your completed responses, verification(s), and document production
by hand delivery, mail, or (with prior consent of the Attorney General’s Office) email
to [email protected]:
Joshua Pierson
c/o Montana Attorney General’s Office
215 N Sanders Street
P.O. Box 201401
Helena, Montana 59620-1401
This Investigative Demand is made pursuant to Mont. Code Ann. §§ 30-14-113 and
30-14-114, in connection with an investigation under Montana Unfair Trade Prac-
tices and Consumer Protection Act (Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-103 et seq.). Your
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
215 North Sanders (406) 444-2026
PO Box 201401 [email protected]
Helena, MT 59620-1401 mtdoj.gov
refusal or failure to comply with this Investigative Demand may subject you to the
proceedings and penalties provided by law. See, e.g., Mont. Code Ann. § 30-14-134.
Fifth Amendment and Montana Constitutional Privileges Against Self-Incrimina-
tion. The information you provide in response to this Investigative Demand may be
used against you in a civil or criminal proceeding brought by the Attorney General or
any other local, state, or federal agency with whom it shares information. The Fifth
Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 25 of the Mon-
tana Constitution contain privileges that allow you to refuse to provide information
that may tend to prove you committed a crime or subject you to a fine, penalty, or
forfeiture. If you intend to assert these privileges, do so in your response to this In-
vestigative Demand expressly and in accordance with paragraph 5 of the instructions
below.
Obligation To Preserve. Do not destroy or otherwise lose from your possession, cus-
tody, or control any documents that may be relevant or responsive to the following
demands for information or requests to produce documents. Notify the Attorney Gen-
eral’s Office immediately of any such loss or destruction.
If you have any questions regarding this Investigative Demand, please contact
Joshua Pierson at the below contact information.
___________________________________
AUSTIN KNUDSEN
Montana Attorney General
KRISTIN HANSEN
Lieutenant General
JOSHUA PIERSON
Assistant Attorney General
215 North Sanders Street
P.O. Box 201401
Helena, Montana 59620-1401
[email protected]
406-444-9637
VERIFICATION OF RESPONSE
STATE OF ___________________)
) §:
COUNTY OF _________________)
The undersigned, being first placed under oath, deposes and says the following.
He/she makes this verification on behalf of him/herself (if he/she is the person to
whom the Investigative Demand is directed) or on behalf of the entity to which the
Investigative Demand is directed. If responding on behalf of an entity, he/she is au-
thorized to do so.
He/she has read the Investigative Demand, and [check which is appropriate]
and the facts and other matters set forth in those responses (other than objections,
claims of privilege, and purely legal contentions) are true, accurate, and complete to
the best of his/her knowledge and belief.
The public record shows that TikTok’s platform (“TikTok”) is dangerous to users. In
particular:
• TikTok allows children who state their age to be as young as 13 to make pro-
files on its platform, but the platform does not distinguish between these chil-
dren and adults when promoting content to users through its algorithm. 1
• TikTok’s algorithm pushes users into increasingly extreme and depressing con-
tent, in an effort to entice users to spend more time on the platform. 4
1 Rob Barry, et al., How TikTok Serves Up Sex and Drug Videos to Minors, WALL ST.
J., (Sept. 8, 2021), available at https://on.wsj.com/3oFpPHU. (A “spokeswoman said
the app doesn’t differentiate between videos it serves to adults and minors.”).
2 Id. (For example, a “bot account registered for a teenage user that fell into the
world of role-playing and other sexually oriented content … experienced one of the
most extreme rabbit holes,” including videos “describe[ing] how to tie knots for sex,
recover from violent sex acts, and discuss[ing] fantasies about rape.” “At one point
more than 90% of the account’s video feed was about bondage and sex.”).
3 Joseph Cox, TikTok, the App Super Popular with Kids, Has a Nudes Problem, VICE
(Dec. 6, 2018) available at https://bit.ly/3BdcXO3.
4 Inside TikTok’s Highly Secretive Algorithm, WALL ST. J. (July 21, 2021), available
at https://on.wsj.com/3HOQ7z6.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 4
banned hashtags, TikTok has promoted them through features like autocom-
plete, which guides users to these dangerous substitutes. 5
• Because of the way TikTok’s algorithm works, users who seek one type of con-
tent can easily and quickly be pushed toward more dangerous content; for ex-
ample, users seeking diet content received “full-blown eating disorder promo-
tion in less than 24 hours” from TikTok. 6
• TikTok allows dozens of beauty filters that let users change their skin, face
shape, body shape, and more, and contributes to an “impossible standard of
beauty,” particularly for young girls. Competitor platforms Snapchat and In-
stagram do not allow filters that promote or mimic plastic surgery. 7
5 Kari Paul, ‘It Spreads Like a Disease’: How Pro-Eating-Disorder Videos Reach Teens
on TikTok, THE GUARDIAN (Oct. 16, 2021), available at https://bit.ly/3LimTKS. (“More
than a month” after being identified to TikTok by an advocacy group, pro-eating dis-
order hashtags “were still active on TikTok.” And “many users appeared to inten-
tionally misspell popular hashtags promoting unhealthy eating after they are banned
to get around the new regulations,” but “TikTok’s own search feature suggested some
of the popular hashtags used to get around its censorship, prompting the user to
search ‘thinspao’ if they simply type ‘thin’ into the search bar.”).
6 Id. (“Efforts by the Guardian to engage with diet content led to full-blown eating
disorder promotion in less than 24 hours. The popular hashtag #WhatIEatInADay,
for example, soon led to #ketodiet videos—then more restrictive diets and eventually
overtly unhealthy hashtags such as #Iwillbeskinny and #thinspoa.”).
7 Id. See also Abby Ohlheiser, TikTok Changed the Shape of Some People’s Faces
Without Asking, MIT TECH. REV. (June 10, 2021), available at https://bit.ly/3oDUx4c.
8 Sam Biddle, et al., Invisible Censorship, THE INTERCEPT (Mar. 16, 2020), available
at https://bit.ly/3LsuRB6. (“Sources indicated that both sets of policies were in use
through at least late 2019.”).
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 5
• On numerous occasions, young TikTok users have been killed or severely in-
jured while replicating dangerous challenges and other trends they learned
about from TikTok. 9
• Dangerous trends and threats on TikTok have caused vandalism in schools and
have forced Montana schools to increase security and even close to avoid the
risk of harm to students. 10
Despite these facts, TikTok communicates to the public that its platform is safe, in-
cluding for children:
• In Apple’s App Store, TikTok self-selects its app rating as “12+,” indicating
that it is appropriate for users twelve years old and older. 11 Similarly, TikTok
rates itself “Teen” in the Google Play and Microsoft stores. 12
• TikTok’s Guardian’s Guide, designed for child users’ parents and guardians,
describes TikTok this way:
• The Guardians Guide also contains a video titled “TikTok Basics,” which de-
scribes TikTok’s “For You Feed” as a “discovery stream” where users “can enjoy
TikTok videos that reflect your interests” “based on [TikTok’s] recommenda-
tion system.” The video supplies graphics of animals, coffee, nature, and music
and makes no mention to parents and guardians that child users could be
served dangerous content through the “For You Feed” or other TikTok fea-
tures. 14
• TikTok’s Guardian’s Guide also provides five tips for parents, which TikTok
says are sourced from teens themselves. One of the five, titled “Trust me,”
encourages parents to give their teens more autonomy online, telling parents:
Teens get that trust has to be earned, and they expect adult
oversight—especially for younger teens. Just as in the
“real” world, teens feel greater autonomy is appropriate as
they get older. Every family is different and the pace at
which a teen moves toward independent use of technology
will vary, but if your teen knows how to navigate platforms
safely and they come to you when things go wrong, that’s a
great foundation for trust. 15
• TikTok’s “Youth Portal” welcomes child users to TikTok but without mention-
ing the dangers found on the platform. The “Youth Portal” describes TikTok
as “a platform where people can create and share authentically, discover the
world around them, and connect with others across the globe.” It says TikTok
is “committed to keeping our global community safe.” Even if a child user clicks
on the link to the “Safety Center,” the user will not receive a warning about
the dangerous content that is available on TikTok. 16
• TikTok says it “has taken industry-first steps to promote a safe and age-appro-
priate experience for teens.” 17
• TikTok’s Community Guidelines claim that TikTok “do[es] not allow nudity,
pornography, or sexually explicit content on our platform,” prohibits “[c]ontent
that depicts or promotes drugs, drug consumption, or encourages others to
make, use, or trade drugs or other controlled substances,” prohibits “[c]ontent
that promotes eating habits that are likely to cause adverse health outcomes,”
does not allow “[c]ontent that depicts a sexual fetish involving a minor,” and
does not allow content about “[d]angerous games, dares, or stunts that might
lead to injury.” 19
The above is substantial evidence of past and ongoing violations of the Montana Un-
fair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act of 1973.
18 Allyson Chiu, The TikTok ‘Skull-Breaker Challenge’ Landed a Teen in the Hospital.
Two Minors Face Criminal Charges, WASH. POST (Mar. 4, 2020), available at
https://wapo.st/34NzrsQ (“A spokesperson for TikTok reiterated that the platform’s
policy on potentially harmful content … stressing that people who attempt stunts
such as the ‘skull-breaker challenge’ won’t be rewarded with viral fame. ‘It’s not go-
ing to make you TikTok-famous, so don’t do it,’ the spokesperson said, later adding:
‘It’s not fun. It’s not funny.’”).
19 Community Guidelines, TIKTOK, available at https://bit.ly/3rI19Ac.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 8
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Rules of construction. These instructions and the below demands for in-
formation and requests to produce documents should be construed to seek the broad-
est amount of information from respondent. Consistent with this, and without limit-
ing any other terms used herein:
The terms “all,” “and,” “and/or,” “any,” “any and all,” “each,” “each and every,”
“every,” and “or” shall be construed to seek the broadest possible information.
The terms “relating” and “relating to” mean reflecting, referring to, relating to,
regarding, discussing, concerning, constituting, mentioning, pertaining to, al-
luding to, or associated with in any way.
The singular of each word includes the plural and vice versa; the root word and
all derivations (“ing,” “ed,” etc.) shall be construed to include each other; and
the masculine, feminine, and neuter (“his,” “her,” “it,” etc.) are interchangeable
so as to seek the broadest possible information.
Verb tense and number should be construed to seek the broadest possible in-
formation.
The scope of each demand or request does not limit any others, but respondent
may, if otherwise consistent with these instructions, specifically reference and
incorporate the response to another demand or request to avoid duplication.
“And” and “Or” are terms of inclusion and not of exclusion and shall be con-
strued either disjunctively or conjunctively, as necessary, to bring within the
scope of this Investigative Demand any document or information that might
otherwise be construed to be outside its scope.
“Content moderation” means any action to remove content and/or content pro-
ducers from a product, to reduce the visibility of content and/or content pro-
ducers on a product, to raise the visibility of content and/or content producers
on a product, to apply screens or pop-ups or warnings to certain content or
content producers, or to monetarily reward certain content and/or content pro-
ducers on a product. “Content moderation” also includes any action to recom-
mend or suggest content to users.
“Device ID” is any identifier or any system used to identify a particular users’
internet-enabled device. The term “Device ID” applies equally to an identifier
set by an internet-enabled device or an identifier created and assigned by Tik-
Tok or an identifier created and assigned or retrieved in any other way.
“Document(s)” is used in the broadest sense of the word under Montana Rules
of Civil Procedure, Rule 34, and includes all original written, printed, typed,
recorded, or graphic matter whatsoever, however produced or reproduced, of
every kind, nature, and description, and all non-identical copies of both sides
thereof, including but not limited to, papers, letters, memoranda, Correspond-
ence, electronic Communications (existing in hard copy and/or in electronic
storage), invoices, contracts, agreements, manuals, publications, photographs
of all types, phonic or visual reproductions of oral statements, conversations,
and including but not limited to, any manual, book, pamphlet, periodical, let-
ter, report, memorandum, notation, or message, and all mechanical, magnetic,
and electronic records or recordings of any kind, together with the codes and/or
“For You Feed” means a user’s main TikTok landing page, where users are
presented with a stream of videos curated by TikTok, and it includes any con-
tent appearing there. “For You Feed” further includes any content or meaning
commonly ascribed to this word by TikTok.
“TikTok” refers to the TikTok social media platform, including in any testing
or beta phases or iterations, and to the incorporated business entity TikTok
Inc., and any and all parents and subsidiaries of TikTok Inc., including
ByteDance, 20 and any prior corporate status, and any present or former direc-
tors, officers, agents, partners, employees, representatives, attorneys, or any
other persons (including any of TikTok Inc.’s affiliates) acting on behalf of, in
affiliation with, under the control of, for the benefit of, at the request of, or in
concert with TikTok Inc. at any time relevant to the information sought in a
demand or request for production.
20 Salvador Rodriguez, TikTok Insiders Say Social Media Company Is Tightly Con-
trolled by Chinese Parent ByteDance, CNBC (June 25, 2021), available at
https://cnb.cx/3JdxGnG (“A former TikTok recruiter” says that “Beijing-based
ByteDance executives were heavily involved in TikTok’s decision-making,” and that
ByteDance “has access to American user data”).
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 11
content, and/or view content, including (but not limited to) the TikTok plat-
form.
Any word not defined herein shall be given its ordinary meaning.
b. When a demand for information asks you to describe or explain any of your
practices or any function of your products, describe and explain not only
current practices and functions but also all relevant past practices and func-
tions.
a. For each request for production, provide a response explaining what you
are producing, withholding, and/or objecting to, and identify the specific
Bates range within your production where the responsive documents to the
request are located. Do not leave any response blank—if there are no doc-
uments responsive to a request, state this in your response.
ii. Please produce all documents in the formant specified at the end of
this Investigative Demand in Appendices I and II.
6. Except where otherwise noted, all interrogatories and document requests seek
information for February 24, 2022, to the present.
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 1: Explain in detail the basis for the “12+”
rating self-assigned to TikTok in Apple’s App Store and the “T” for “Teen” rating self-
assigned to TikTok in the Google Play store and Microsoft Store.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 2: Explain in what ways TikTok “has taken
industry-first steps to promote a safe and age-appropriate experience for teens.” 21
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 3: Explain whether, and if so, how, TikTok
“prohibits nudity and sexual solicitation and removes accounts that redirect users to
sexual content or services, including on OnlyFans.” 22
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 5: Explain how TikTok has previously iden-
tified and removed content that violates its Community Guidelines, if at all, since the
platform’s launch, and provide the date of and reason for any changes made to the
Community Guidelines.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 6: Provide a list of all hashtags TikTok has
banned or restricted and the date on which each hashtag was banned or restricted.
ANSWER:
21 Rob Barry, et al., How TikTok Serves Up Sex and Drug Videos to Minors, WALL ST.
J., (Sept. 8, 2021), available at https://on.wsj.com/3oFpPHU.
22 Id.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 15
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 7: Explain how TikTok “work[s] diligently to
identify and remove content” that “encourages, promotes, or glorifies dangerous
behavior that might lead to injury,” and identify all instances in which TikTok has
identified and removed such content. 23
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 8: Explain how TikTok acts to disallow “nu-
dity, pornography, or sexually explicit content on [its] platform.” 24
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 10: Explain how TikTok acts to disallow
“[c]ontent that depicts a sexual fetish involving a minor.” 26
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 11: Explain what warnings TikTok supplies
parents and guardians about dangerous content on TikTok, including how TikTok
ensures that these warnings reach parents and guardians of child users of TikTok.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 13: Explain how, if at all, a user’s access
to content and other capabilities on the TikTok platform is restricted if the user reg-
isters as under the age of 21.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 14: Explain how, if at all, a user’s access to
content and other capabilities on the TikTok platform is restricted if the user regis-
ters as under the age of 16.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 15: Describe in detail what information Tik-
Tok collects from users when they create a TikTok account, including any methods of
age verification.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 16: Describe in detail any technology Tik-
Tok has developed, has used, or is using that would allow TikTok to estimate users’
actual ages, including users under age 13 or under age 16 or under age 21.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 17: Describe in detail whether any technol-
ogy covered by the previous question (Demand for Information 16) has been used or
is currently in use on the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
27 See Eric Han, Advancing Our Approach to User Safety, TIKTOK (July 9, 2021),
available at https://bit.ly/3gFeEdI.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 17
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 18: Describe in detail any knowledge TikTok
possesses about the efficacy of any technology covered by the previous two questions
(Demand for Information 16 and 17) in determining the actual age of an individual
user, or any knowledge TikTok possesses about the likelihood that users under 13
have TikTok accounts and the number of these underage users.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 19: Describe in detail any research con-
ducted by or commissioned by or otherwise known to TikTok about any correlation
between use of the TikTok platform and suicidal ideation and/or suicide among chil-
dren under age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 20: Describe in detail any research con-
ducted by or commissioned by or otherwise known to TikTok about any correlation
between use of the TikTok platform and pornography addiction among children under
age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 21: Describe in detail any research conducted
by or commissioned by or otherwise known to TikTok about any correlation between
use of the TikTok platform and eating disorders among children under age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 22: Explain in detail what user information
is collected through the TikTok app or platform as a result of the user’s use of the app
or platform.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 23: Explain what, if any, information is col-
lected through the TikTok app or platform about comments, posts, direct messages
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 24: To the extent TikTok collects any infor-
mation pursuant to the above question (Demand for Information No. 23), explain in
detail whether, and if so, how, users are informed about this data collection and give
their consent.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 25: Explain whether and, if so, to what ex-
tent, TikTok collects data from or conducts research on child users under age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 26: Explain whether and, if so, how, TikTok
seeks parental consent before collecting data or conducting research on children un-
der age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 27: Explain in detail any strategic intention
or decision by TikTok to attract child users under age 18 to TikTok.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 28: Explain in detail any employee direc-
tives, including any compensation awards, that are linked to increasing the number
of child users under age 18 who use the TikTok platform or register for TikTok ac-
counts.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 29: Explain in detail any employee direc-
tives, including any compensation awards, that are linked to growing or maximizing
the amount of engagement between child users under age 18 and the TikTok plat-
form.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 31: Explain in detail whether, and if so, to
what extent, TikTok allows advertisers to target child users under age 18, including
how any such targeting occurs.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 32: Explain in detail whether TikTok allows
advertisers to market mental health self-diagnosis tools or to promote mental health
self-diagnosis to users, including but not limited to the advertisers Cerebral and
Done, which purport to offer online tools for diagnosing and coping with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 28 Include the dates on which any relevant
advertisements appeared to TikTok users, the number of user impressions made, and
the number of user impressions made to users under age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 33: Explain in detail any knowledge TikTok
possesses about users, and especially child users, relating to the platform in a way
that could be described as “addictive,” including through “rabbit-holing,” meaning the
practice of using the platform for long periods of time without breaks, including but
not limited to viewing content of a single type for long periods.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 35: Describe in detail any knowledge, statis-
tical or otherwise, or research possessed by or known to TikTok that suggests that
TikTok produces an addictive or addiction-like response in some or all users, includ-
ing but not limited to the effects of TikTok’s platform on users’ attention span or do-
pamine responses.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 36: Describe in detail any knowledge, statis-
tical or otherwise, or research possessed by or known to TikTok that relates to the
relationship between video length and user engagement, including but not limited to
the length of video that maximizes user engagement on the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 37: Describe in detail any knowledge TikTok
possesses about the way some subsets of the wider population respond to TikTok us-
age, including but not limited to statistical subsets of the wider population of TikTok
users whose use correlates to greater experience of mental health problems even if
statistics about the wider population of TikTok users would not suggest such a corre-
lation.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 38: Describe in detail how the TikTok algo-
rithm chooses what content to promote in a user’s “For You Feed.”
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 39: State whether the TikTok algorithm
chooses what content to promote in a user’s “For You Feed” differently for adult users
as compared to users under age 18.
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 40: Describe in detail how the TikTok algo-
rithm chooses what search results to suggest or autopopulate as part of the TikTok
platform’s Autocomplete feature.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 41: State whether the TikTok algorithm
chooses what search results to suggest or autopopulate as part of the TikTok plat-
form’s Autocomplete feature differently for adult users as compared to users under
age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 42: Explain in detail whether, and if so, to
what extent, any employee of TikTok may manually intervene or manually alter any
search results or the promotion of any content (advertising or otherwise) in any aspect
of a user’s experience with the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 43: Explain in detail the priorities for which
the TikTok algorithm is designed as relates to search results or the promotion of any
content (advertising or otherwise) in a user’s “For You Feed,” or any other aspect of
the platform. For example, explain whether the TikTok algorithm is designed to
maximize engagement (and if so, what types of engagement), time spent, quality of
engagement, and/or any other priority of TikTok.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 44: For any priority outlined in the question
above (Demand for Information No. 43) please explain any research that supports the
value of that priority for TikTok from a business perspective or otherwise.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 46: If not all TikTok accounts are subject to
the same Community Guidelines and content moderation (see above, Demand for In-
formation No. 45), then explain in detail which TikTok accounts or users are exempt
from some or all of the Community Guidelines or any particular form of content mod-
eration and how such TikTok accounts or users are selected for such specialized treat-
ment.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 47: List all, if any, third-party fact checkers
with whom TikTok contracts for fact-checking services on the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 48: Explain in detail whether and, if so, how
and to what extent, TikTok collects, relies on, or uses a user’s geographic details (e.g.,
user location, user’s registration address, etc.), including (but not limited to) whether
and if so, how and to what extent, TikTok collects and relies on a user’s geographic
location in relation to that of other users (for example, recommending content to a
user based on content another user has viewed after the two users spend time in the
same geographic location).
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 49: Explain in detail what information Tik-
Tok currently collects or has collected in the past related to a user’s “app and file
names,” “keystroke patterns or rhythms,” “audio settings and connected audio de-
vices.” 29
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 51: List the names of any and all employees
who have been responsible for or have participated in any efforts to drive user en-
gagement on the TikTok platform, including for users under age 18.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 52: State the number of TikTok users who
have more than one TikTok account.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 53: Estimate the number of secondary Tik-
Tok accounts held by child users (under age 18).
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 54: Estimate the number of secondary Tik-
Tok accounts held by child users (under age 18) in Montana.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 55: Explain how advertisers purchase adver-
tising space or views on TikTok.
ANSWER:
30 Id.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 24
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 57: List and describe the filters available on
TikTok now or at any time in the past that might reasonably be considered “beauty”
filters meant to enhance a person’s features and include photos with and without each
filter’s overlay.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 58: State whether any “beauty” filters en-
compassed in the previous demand (Demand for Information No. 57) have been made
equally available to users under age 18 as to adult users, or if any such “beauty”
filters have been restricted for users under age 18; and if such “beauty filters” have
been restricted at any time, the dates of any such restrictions.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 59: State whether TikTok has ever in-
structed moderators or other employees to suppress posts from users considered “too
ugly, poor, or disabled for the platform.” 31 .
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 60: State whether any TikTok entities incor-
porated in the United States share user data or other data about platform usage with
entities in the TikTok Inc. corporate family that are incorporated or located outside
of the United States, including in China.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 61: Describe in detail any policies or proce-
dures according to which any TikTok entities incorporated in the United States share
user data or other data about platform usage with entities in the TikTok Inc. corpo-
rate family that are incorporated or located outside of the United States, including in
China.
31 Sam Biddle, et al., Invisible Censorship, THE INTERCEPT (Mar. 16, 2020), available
at https://bit.ly/3LsuRB6.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 25
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 62: List chronologically and describe any re-
strictions TikTok has imposed on the hashtags #thinspiration, #thinspo,
#proanorexia, #ana, #thinspoooo, #proana, #bulimia, #anaismyfriend, #ednos, #bod-
ycheck, and #bodychecking including for each hashtag the date range for each appli-
cable restriction and the nature of that restriction (e.g., search results hidden, warn-
ing label offered, etc.).
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 63: For all of the hashtags listed in the pre-
ceding Demand for Information No. 62, state whether TikTok’s Autocomplete feature
has ever suggested any of the listed hashtags to users when those users were typing
in TikTok’s search bar, and if so, state the date ranges for which each hashtag was
eligible for Autocomplete.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 64: List chronologically and describe any re-
strictions TikTok has imposed on the hashtags #selfharm, #self-harm, #selfharn,
#self-harn, #selfharmmm, #selfinjury, #selfinjuryy, #selfinjuryyy, #suicide, #depres-
sion, #MySecretFamily, #MySe-cretFamily, #blithe, and #ehtilb, including the date
range for each applicable restriction and the nature of that restriction (e.g., search
results hidden, warning label offered, etc.).
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 65: For all of the hashtags listed in the pre-
ceding Demand for Information No. 64, state whether TikTok’s Autocomplete feature
has ever suggested any of the listed hashtags to users when those users were typing
in TikTok’s search bar, and if so, state the date ranges for which each hashtag was
eligible for Autocomplete.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 66: List chronologically and describe any re-
strictions TikTok has imposed on the hashtags #skullbreakers, #skullbreakerchal-
lenge, #deviouslicks, #deviouslickschallenge, #dryscooping, #dryscoopingchallenge,
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 67: For all of the hashtags listed in the pre-
ceding Demand for Information No. 66, state whether TikTok’s Autocomplete feature
has ever suggested any of the listed hashtags to users when those users were typing
in TikTok’s search bar, and if so, state the date ranges for which each hashtag was
eligible for Autocomplete.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 68: State whether Beijing ByteDance Tech-
nology is an “affiliate of [TikTok’s] corporate group” as that term is defined in Tik-
Tok’s privacy policy. 32
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 69: State whether TikTok’s parent company,
ByteDance Ltd., has ever communicated with TikTok regarding the substance of con-
tent displayed on TikTok.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 70: State whether any TikTok employee has
ever communicated with an official or employee of either the Chinese government or
the Chinese Communist Party.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 71: State whether any person in China may
access any data that is generated by use of TikTok within the United States. If so,
state what data is accessible within China.
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 72: State whether information about any
TikTok user has been offered to or provided to any person in China, whether or not
that person is an employee of TikTok Inc.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 73: Describe any and all procedures that re-
late to TikTok’s response, if any, to border cartels using TikTok to recruit teens to
drive migrants into the United States. 33
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 7424: List all third-party trackers affiliated
with TikTok and describe in detail the information made accessible to each one
through TikTok.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 7525: State whether the TikTok app com-
plies with all policies set out by the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Microsoft
Store.
ANSWER:
33 Adam Shaw & Aishah Hasnie, Border Cartels Using TikTok, Social Media to Re-
cruit US Teens to Smuggle Migrants, N. Y. POST (April 21, 2021), available at
https://bit.ly/35Uqcrq.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 28
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 7727: Describe each and every type of Device
ID TikTok uses or has used in relation to any user or internet-enabled device, for any
purpose.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 7828: State whether TikTok allows any third
party to access any Device ID(s) or otherwise shares Device ID(s) with any third
party. If so, for each such third party state: the name of the third party, the type of
Device ID made available to that third party, the date range for which the type of
Device ID was made available to that third party (including whether the availability
is ongoing), and the approximate number of unique Device IDs made available to that
third party.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 7929: State specifically whether any Chinese
entity receives Device IDs from TikTok or can access them through the TikTok app.
ANSWER:
DEMAND FOR INFORMATION NO. 8030: State whether TikTok has restricted
any hashtags, removed any content, or otherwise restricted any user activity because
that activity commented on or otherwise related to political unrests or protests in
Hong Kong. If yes, describe in detail the nature of any such restriction on user activ-
ity.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 32: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s decision to self-se-
lect ratings of “12+” in the Apple App Store and “T” for “Teen” in the Google Play
store and Microsoft Store.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 33: Any and all documents supporting how TikTok “has taken in-
dustry-first steps to promote a safe and age-appropriate experience for teens.” 34
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 34: Any and all documents describing or relating to how TikTok
identifies and removes content that violates its Community Guidelines (or, if past
methods are different than present methods, any and all documents describing or
setting out how TikTok has identified and removed content at any time since Tik-
Tok’s inception).
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 35: Any and all documents describing or related to how TikTok
identifies hashtags to restrict or eliminate (including by posting warnings or redi-
recting users).
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 6: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s decision to develop
and the development of a new algorithm in July 2021.
ANSWER:
34 Rob Barry, et al., How TikTok Serves Up Sex and Drug Videos to Minors, WALL ST.
J., (Sept. 8, 2021), available at https://on.wsj.com/3oFpPHU.
STATE’S FIRST CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND | 30
REQUEST NO. 7: Any and all documents describing the ability or inability of Tik-
Tok to restrict a user’s access to content or other capabilities on TikTok based on
the user’s age.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 8: Any and all documents describing the information TikTok col-
lects (or has considered collecting) from users when they create a TikTok account,
including any methods of age verification.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 9: Any and all documents relating to any technology TikTok has
considered or developed that would help verify the age of users.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 10: Any and all documents related to the efficacy of TikTok’s age
verification.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 11: Any and all documents about whether any technology covered
by the previous question (Request No. 10) has been used or is currently in use on
the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 13: Any and all documents related to research TikTok has con-
ducted, commissioned, or is aware of regarding any correlation between the use of
TikTok by children under age 18 and suicidal ideation and/or suicide.
REQUEST NO. 14: Any and all documents related to research TikTok has con-
ducted, commissioned, or is aware of regarding any correlation between the use of
TikTok by children under age 18 and pornography addiction.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 15: Any and all documents related to research TikTok has con-
ducted, commissioned, or is aware of regarding any correlation between the use of
TikTok by children under age 18 and eating disorders.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 16: Any and all documents related to research TikTok has con-
ducted, commissioned, or is aware of regarding any correlation between the use of
TikTok by children under age 18 and depression or mental health strain.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 17: Any and all documents related to information TikTok collects
from users or has considered collecting from users, including metadata or data about
what users type and choose not to send or post.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 18: Any documents about whether and, if so, to what extent, Tik-
Tok collects data from or conducts research on child users under age 18.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 19: Any documents about whether and, if so, how, TikTok seeks
parental consent before collecting data or conducting research on children under age
18.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 21: Any and all documents that describe any testing that TikTok
has conducted about what does or does not (or how to) drive user engagement on
TikTok, including for users under age 18.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 22: Any documents about any employee directives, including any
compensation awards, that are linked to increasing the number of young people un-
der age 18 who use the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 23: Any and all documents about any employee directives, includ-
ing any compensation awards, that are linked to growing or maximizing the amount
of engagement between young users (under age 18) and the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 24: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s knowledge of paren-
tal involvement in, knowledge of, and/or control of young users’ (under age 18 age)
use of the TikTok platform.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 25: Any and all documents that describe, estimate, or otherwise
relate to TikTok’s knowledge of the number of secondary TikTok accounts held by
child users (under age 18).
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 26: Any and all documents that describe, estimate, or otherwise
relate to TikTok’s knowledge of the number of secondary TikTok accounts held by
child users (under age 18) in Montana.
REQUEST NO. 27: Any and all documents about or related to the ability of adver-
tisers to target child users (under age 18).
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 2836: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s ability to target
advertisements to child users (under age 18), whether or not at the direction of the
advertiser.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 29: Any and all documents TikTok possesses about users, espe-
cially child users, using the TikTok platform in a way that could be described as
“addictive,” including through “rabbit-holing.”
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 30: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s knowledge, statisti-
cal or otherwise, that TikTok exacerbates mental health problems in already-vul-
nerable populations, including but not limited to individuals already suffering from
depression, eating disorders, or suicidal ideation.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 31: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s knowledge, statisti-
cal or otherwise, or research known to TikTok that suggests that TikTok produces
an addictive or addiction-like response in some or all users, including but not limited
to the effects of TikTok’s platform on users’ attention span or dopamine responses.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 32: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s knowledge, statisti-
cal or otherwise, or research possessed by or known to TikTok that relates to the
relationship between video length and user engagement, including but not limited
to the length of video that maximizes user engagement on the TikTok platform.
REQUEST NO. 33: Any and all documents related to TikTok’s knowledge of the
way some subsets of the wider population respond to TikTok usage, including but
not limited to statistical subsets of the wider population of TikTok users whose use
correlates to greater experience of mental health problems even if statistics about
the wider population of TikTok users would not suggest such a correlation.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 34: Any and all documents related to how the TikTok algorithm
chooses what content to promote in a user’s For You Feed.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 35: Any and all documents related to how the TikTok algorithm
chooses what content to promote in a user’s For You Feed differently for adult users
as compared to users under age 18, if the TikTok algorithm does promote content
differently between these two groups.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 36: Any and all documents related to how the TikTok algorithm
chooses what search results to suggest or autopopulate as part of the TikTok plat-
form’s Autocomplete feature.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 37: Any and all documents related to how the TikTok algorithm
chooses what search results to suggest or autopopulate as part of the TikTok plat-
form’s Autocomplete feature differently for adult users as compared to users under
age 18, if the TikTok algorithm does suggest results differently between these two
groups.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 39: Any and all documents related to the priorities for which Tik-
Tok designs its algorithm, including, if applicable, user engagement.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 40: Any and all documents related to whether all accounts are sub-
ject to the same Community Guidelines and content moderation, and if not, which
accounts are not and how those accounts are selected for special treatment.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 41: Any and all documents relating to TikTok’s relationship with
third-party fact checkers with whom TikTok contracts for fact-checking services on
the TikTok platform, if any.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 42: Any and all documents relating to how TikTok collects, uses,
or relies on geographic information collected from users.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 43: Any and all documents relating to how advertisers purchase
space or views on TikTok.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 44: Any and all documents related to designing and making avail-
able on TikTok now, or at any time in the past, filters that might reasonably be
considered “beauty” filters meant to enhance a person’s features.
ANSWER:
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 46: Any and all documents related to the practice of TikTok entities
incorporated in the United States sharing user data or other data about platform
usage with entities in the TikTok Inc. corporate family that are incorporated or lo-
cated outside of the United States, including in China.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 47: Any and all documents related to any content moderation de-
cisions TikTok has made that have imposed restrictions on the hashtags #thinspi-
ration, #thinspo, #proanorexia, #ana, #thinspoooo, #proana, #bulimia,
#anaismyfriend, #ednos, #bodycheck, and #bodychecking.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 48: Any and all documents related to any content moderation de-
cisions TikTok has made that have imposed restrictions on the hashtags #selfharm,
#self-harm, #selfharn, #self-harn, #selfharmmm, #selfinjury, #selfinjuryy, #selfin-
juryyy, #suicide, #depression, #MySecretFamily, #MySe-cretFamily, #blithe, and
#ehtilb.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 49: Any and all documents related to any content moderation de-
cisions TikTok has made that have imposed restrictions on the hashtags #skull-
breakers, #skullbreakerchallenge, #deviouslicks, #deviouslickschallenge,
#dryscooping, #dryscoopingchallenge, #benadryl, #bendarylchallenge, #blackout,
#blackoutchallenge, #chachaslide, #chachaslidechallenge, #lugnut, and
#lugnutchallenge, and for any variations of these hashtags.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 50: Any and all communications between TikTok and Beijing
ByteDance Technology, the domestic subsidiary of ByteDance Ltd.
REQUEST NO. 51: Any and all communications involving both TikTok and an of-
ficial or employee of the Chinese government, including communications relayed
through ByteDance Ltd. or any other person or entity.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 52: Any and all documents that relate to TikTok’s response, if any,
to border cartels or other human smugglers using TikTok to recruit teens or other
users to drive or otherwise transport migrants into the United States.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 53: Any and all documents that refer or relate in any way to the
Wall Street Journal's coverage of TikTok in July or September 2021, and any and
all documents that refer or relate in any way to coverage by other news outlets con-
cerning the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on TikTok from in July or September
2021.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 54: Any and all documents provided to any state or state investi-
gative body or federal agency or Congress in relation to any investigation of unfair
or deceptive trade practices as defined by any state or federal laws.
ANSWER:
REQUEST NO. 55: Any and all documents related to the origination and develop-
ment of TikTok’s updated Community Guidelines, set to take effect March 7, 2022.
ANSWER:
Unless otherwise agreed to by the Montana Attorney General’s Office, all responsive
documents must be produced in accordance with the following instructions.
A. Metadata Load File. A delimited text file that lists the required
metadata for each produced document.
D. Opticon Load File. A comma delimited text file that lists the single-
page TIF files for each produced document and defines (i) the relative
location of the TIF files on the production media and (ii) each document
break.
5. Structured Data. Before producing structured data, including but not limited
to relational databases, transactional data, and xml pages, you must first
speak to the Assistant Attorney General whose telephone number appears on
this Investigative Demand. Spreadsheets are not considered structured data.
E. Native Files
Non-printable or non–print friendly documents (including but
not limited to spreadsheets, audio files, video files and docu-
ments for which color has significance to document fidelity) must
be produced in their native format.
The filename of each native file must match the document’s be-
ginning Bates number (BEGDOC) in the metadata load file and
retain the original file extension.
For documents produced only in native format, you must assign
a single document-level Bates number and provide an image file
placeholder that states “Document produced only in native for-
mat.”
The relative paths to all native files on the production media
must be listed in the FILEPATH field of the metadata load file.
You may be required to supply a software license for proprietary
documents produced only in native format.