Two U.S. senators have demanded answers from TikTok after the company disabled an algorithmic safety feature for 15 million American users as part of an internal experiment — one that a 16-year-old later caught in the test group died by suicide.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter in August 2026 to TikTok CEO Shou Chew and Adam Presser, CEO of TikTok’s U.S. business, calling the decision to run the experiment “depraved.” The senators have set a September 1 deadline for TikTok to respond.
According to a Bloomberg report, TikTok intentionally disabled an algorithmic safeguard for roughly 10% of U.S. users to create a control group. The safeguard was designed to prevent users from being overwhelmed by harmful content. TikTok’s stated reason for removing it was to determine whether the feature made the app less engaging.
Among those placed in the control group was Chase Nasca, a 16-year-old whose algorithm served him thousands of videos about sadness, suicide, and loneliness in the period leading up to his death by suicide.
The senators are seeking answers to 13 questions about the experiment. These include the names of every employee who knew about the experiment, why TikTok allowed minors to be included in the control group, and a full list of algorithmic experiments in the U.S. in which the platform disabled or delayed a safety feature.
The case raises questions about how platforms weigh user safety against engagement metrics when designing internal tests. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch.
Source: TechCrunch