Washington [US], January 18: The Iowa Attorney General sued TikTok on January 17, accusing the short video platform of misleading parents about the risk of their children accessing inappropriate content on the app.
In a lawsuit filed in a state court in Iowa, Attorney General Brenna Bird accused TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance of misleading consumers about the popularity of drug-inclusive content. , nudity, alcohol and profanity on the platform.
" TikTok has outsmarted parents. It's time for us to put TikTok under scrutiny for exposing young children to sensitive content such as pornography, self-harm, illegal drug use, and more serious," Reuters quoted Ms. Bird, a Republican, as saying in a statement.
For allegedly defrauding consumers, the state of Iowa is seeking financial penalties and an injunction banning TikTok from engaging in unfair and deceptive practices.
Commenting on the incident, TikTok said it "has industry-leading protections for teens, including parental controls and time limits for those under 18. We is committed to addressing industry challenges and will continue to prioritize community safety."
This is the latest lawsuit against TikTok originating from an American state. Along with other social media companies , TikTok is facing pressure from regulators globally to protect children from harmful content on its platform.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states including Arkansas and Utah. A judge in the state of Indiana in November 2023 dismissed the state attorney general's lawsuit against TikTok. Other states are continuing to investigate.
In the lawsuit, the state of Iowa alleges that TikTok misled consumers by presenting it as an app that could be intended for ages "12+" and that it did not regularly contain profanity, sexually explicit content, or the use of drugs, on Apple's App Store.
The lawsuit claims that, contrary to what TikTok advertises, harmful content frequently appears on the app. According to the lawsuit, by determining that the application is suitable for the age "12+", TikTok was able to bypass parental controls for children on Apple devices such as the iPhone.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
