HOUSTON – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing TikTok, accusing the social media platforms of regularly showing inappropriate and explicit material to children.
Paxton stated that TikTok lied about its safety standards and concealed the truth about the prevalence of inappropriate and explicit material.
Recommended Videos
According to the lawsuit, the platform deceives parents with its age rating in app stores by falsely representing the presence of graphic videos depicting drugs, nudity, alcohol, and profanity as “infrequent” and “mild.” During an investigation, it was reportedly discovered that a virtually endless stream of videos on such topics was easily accessible to minors.
“TikTok actively worked to deceive parents and lure children onto their app despite the presence of an overwhelming amount of profane and illicit material,” Paxton said. “Companies may not jeopardize the health and wellbeing of Texas children by blatantly lying about the products they provide.”
Paxton previously sued TikTok for violating the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (“SCOPE”) Act, which accused TikTok of unlawfully operating its platform in a manner that puts the online safety and privacy of Texas children at risk.