The app has created ‘rampant body image issues, eating disorders,’ especially among young women, the lawsuit said.
Social media platform TikTok is being sued by the attorney general of Texas for allegedly exposing children to inappropriate material while misleading parents as well as minors about the addictive nature of the app.
“While TikTok has established itself as one of the most popular apps in Texas, it has utterly disregarded the health and safety of Texas minors in the process,” said the Jan. 9 lawsuit filed in the District Court of Galveston County, Texas. “TikTok is rife with profanity, sexual content, violence, mature themes, and drug and alcohol content. In an investigation of TikTok, the State discovered virtually endless amounts of extreme and mature videos presented to minors as young as thirteen—some with millions of views.
“Much of this content would shock the conscience of an individual of any age, let alone impressionable minors.”
The lawsuit accused TikTok of “specifically” targeting its app toward minors, designing it to be “addictive.” The app’s “endless” scroll of videos is aimed at hooking users into “a dreamlike state of content consumption,” and this addictive use is a core element of the company’s business model as it ensures more advertisements and “massive” profits, the lawsuit argues.
TikTok has “affirmatively lied” about the addictive nature of the app, thus misleading parents and minors in Texas, the complaint alleges.
Tiktok targets minors as evidenced by its 12+ age rating in the Apple App Store even though the company could have selected 17+, the complaint said. In Google Play and Microsoft app stores, TikTok claimed the “T for Teen” ratings. When parents or children consider whether to download the app, they are exposed to these ratings that depict TikTok as being suitable for minors.
According to TikTok, the app is available to individuals aged 13 and above. Some of the features on the app “may not be available” to users until they hit 16 or 18 years of age.
For users between the ages of 13 and 15, the account is “set to private by default,” the company states.
