Texas sues TikTok over claims app illegally shares minor's data
(Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against social media platform TikTok for allegedly violating a state law.
Paxton claims the app is violating the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act.
The SCOPE Act, which was passed in 2023 and took effect in September, keeps social media platforms from sharing, disclosing or selling a minor's personal information without permission from a parent or guardian.
Paxton says the law requires digital service providers to offer tools for a minor's parent and guardian to manage and control a minor's privacy and account settings.
Ken Paxton
The attorney general says the current parental controls on the app don't go far enough.
"Defendants have failed, and continue to fail, to create and provide parents and guardians with the tools legally required to protect minors’ privacy and safety. Defendants have failed to develop a commercially reasonable method for a known minor’s parent or guardian to verify their identity and relationship to a known minor. Further, Defendants share and disclose the personal identifying information of minors without permission from a known minor’s verified parent," reads the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that a simple search for a TikTok account can reveal personal information like the user's name, username, profile image, content and more.
Paxton is seeking civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation, under the lawsuit.
"TikTok and other social media companies cannot ignore their duties under Texas law," said Paxton in a statement.
The lawsuit was filed in Galveston County on Thursday.