RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced he is investigating the social media app TikTok for “providing and promoting its children and young adults”.

Stein said the social media platform has been associated with physical and mental health harms. He joins a bipartisan group of attorneys general looking into whether the company violated consumer protection laws.

“I’m very concerned about the ways in which social media companies may be using their technology to hook our kids without regard for their emotional or mental health,” said Attorney General Josh Stein in a statement. “This investigation will shed more light on TikTok’s business practices and how they may harm our children. I will do everything in my power to keep North Carolina’s children safe, whether they’re at school, on the playground, or online.” 

Stein’s office said the investigation will look into techniques the company uses to boost young user engagement.

Stein is also part of an executive committee of states investigating Instagram’s impact on children. In May, he joined more than 40 attorneys general urging Facebook to abandon its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13.