ALABAMA SUES TIKTOK AND BYTEDANCE OVER DECEPTIVE YOUTH SAFETY CLAIMS

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced a lawsuit against TikTok Inc. and its parent company, ByteDance Inc., this week, accusing them of misleading parents about the platform's safety for children and exploiting young users with harmful content.

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Filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, the complaint seeks to hold TikTok accountable for fueling a mental health crisis among Alabama's youth, alleging violations of the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act. For parents, youth advocates, and social media regulators, the lawsuit highlights concerns about TikTok's impact on minors and its data practices, intensifying scrutiny of the Chinese-owned platform.

The suit claims TikTok's algorithm is designed to addict children, exposing them to content promoting depression, eating disorders, self-harm, drug use, and dangerous viral challenges, while its safety features, like Kids Mode and Restricted Mode, are ineffective and easily bypassed.

Marshall alleges that over one-third of TikTok's daily U.S. users are 14 or younger, a result of deliberate targeting, with ByteDance collecting sensitive user data that may be shared with Chinese intelligence services.

The state seeks civil penalties, compensatory and punitive damages, and an injunction to stop TikTok's deceptive practices.

LAWSUIT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST TIKTOK

The Alabama lawsuit accuses TikTok of deceptive claims about platform safety, asserting that its algorithm encourages endless scrolling among minors, exposing them to harmful content.