Alabama attorney general announces lawsuit against TikTok, ByteDance Inc.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT) — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Tuesday that the state has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance Inc.

The lawsuit claims the platform is exploiting children, addicting them to harmful content and lying about the safety of its platform.

The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, seeks to hold TikTok accountable for fueling a mental health crisis among Alabama’s youth.

“Today, we join concerned parents across our state to stand up for Alabama’s children,” Marshall said in a statement. “TikTok preys on young people, feeding them dangerous and damaging content while lying to parents about how safe the app really is. This platform was designed to addict kids and put profits ahead of the mental health of an entire generation. TikTok’s so-called ‘safety features’ are a joke. They are nothing more than a marketing ploy to trick parents into trusting a product that TikTok knows full well is dangerous. Alabama families deserve the truth, and we will make sure they get it.”

The lawsuit explains the app’s algorithm is engineered to keep children in a mindless scroll and exposes them to content that promotes “depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and drug use, as well as dangerous viral ‘challenges.'”

Marshall stated the lawsuit claims TikTok’s safety measures, such as “Kids Mode” and “Restricted Mode,” are ineffective and easily bypassed, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation and harm, while TikTok does little to block inappropriate adult material.

“Over one-third of its daily users in the United States are fourteen or younger. TikTok’s capture of the American youth market is no accident but is instead the result of a carefully executed campaign,” Marshall stated.

The release stated the lawsuit identifies TikTok as being ultimately owned and operated by ByteDance, a Chinese corporation, which, since the app’s inception, has focused “on gathering as much data on users as possible.”

The lawsuit seeks civil penalties under Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as compensatory and punitive damages to the state, and injunctive relief to ensure that the company’s misleading practices about youth safety are discontinued.

You can read the full complaint filed by the state below: