Texas AG is suing TikTok for violating new child safety law

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a lawsuit against social media giant TikTok for allegedly sharing young people’s personal information in violation of the state’s new child safety law.

This law, the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE), is part of a broader effort by U.S. policymakers to protect children from falling victim to the darker side of technology. Children’s safety online has become one of the hottest topics in recent years, leading to tech CEOs being criticized before Congress and various official reports decrying the way tech companies do business.

The law, which only went into effect in September of this year, is similar to child safety laws recently introduced by other states, including New York. The aim of these laws is to protect children from misleading or harmful technology while making it illegal to share young people’s data without the consent of their parents or guardians.

It’s the latest data sharing part that got TikTok into trouble in Texas.

“I will continue to hold TikTok and other major tech companies accountable for exploiting Texas children and failing to prioritize the online safety and privacy of minors,” Paxton said in a press release today. “Texas law requires social media companies to take steps to protect children online and requires them to provide parents with tools to do the same. TikTok and other social media companies cannot ignore their obligations under Texas law.”

Paxton claims that TikTok hasn’t done enough to create features in its app that ensure children must verify their identity with a parent or guardian. While TikTok does have such a feature, “Family Pairing,” the lawsuit claims it is insufficient and “does not allow you to control or restrict most privacy and account settings of a known minor.”

According to the lawsuit, this means parents or guardians cannot prevent TikTok from “sharing, disclosing, and selling personal identification information of a known minor,” nor does it give them the “ability to display targeted advertisements to a known minor.”

“We strongly disagree with these allegations and actually provide robust protections for youth and parents, including family reunification, all of which are publicly available,” TikTok said in a statement shared on X. “We stand by the protective measures we offer families.”

It goes without saying that none of this will help TikTok in its mission to survive the ban in the US after it was accused of sharing data with the Chinese government.

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