NEW YORK: TikTok teams identified harmful effects of its platform on young users, but limited preventive measures so as to avoid a drop in traffic, according to internal documents revealed by a US public radio station on Friday.

The documents, mentioned in a subpoena issued by the Kentucky attorney general, are part of a lawsuit filed by 13 states and Washington DC, accusing TikTok of harming young users` mental health.

The papers reveal TikTok`s awareness of its platform`s appeal and its recommendation algorithm, which offers a seemingly endless chain of short videos.

One unnamed TikTok executive noted the need to be `cognisant` of the app`s impact on `sleep, and eating, and moving around the room, and looking at someone in the eyes`.

Kentucky Public Radio reconstructed the internal communications before a state judge ordered the documents removed from the public record.

The lawsuit claims TikTok`s research found that after viewing 260 videos, a user likely became addicted to the platform.

The company`s studies also correlated `compulsive usage` with negative mental health effects, including `loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety`.

While TikTok has implemented features to limit young users` screen time, including parental controls and a one-hour timeout, the documents suggest ByteDance, TikTok`s parent company, did not seek to improve these tools despite knowing their limited effectiveness.

A TikTok project manager wrote: `Our goal is not to reduce the time spent` on the platform.-AFP