AG James Uthmeier Launches Lawsuit Against TikTok for Deceiving Parents about the Safety of its Platform; Failure to Comply with HB3

Courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Attorney General James Uthmeier sued TikTok, alleging the popular social media platform committed a series of violations of Florida law by actively targeting and contracting with minors while deceiving parents about the dangers of the app.

"TikTok's success hinges on its ability to addict children and teenagers to the platform," said Attorney General James Uthmeier. "TikTok knowingly deceives parents and allows children to be exposed to harmful and inappropriate content in direct violation of Florida law. We have zero tolerance for companies that prioritize profit over children's safety. TikTok should expect to be held accountable."

"The State of Florida stands with families in protecting our children from the abuses of addictive social media apps," said Representative Chip LaMarca. "Thank you to the AG for pursuing the fight against these bad actors."

The complaint alleges that TikTok is in violation of House Bill 3, Florida's online child protections law, which took effect on January 1, 2025. Specifically, TikTok is accused of letting children under 14 years old create accounts, and letting 15- and 16-year-olds do the same without parental consent. Both violate H.B. 3, which bans children under 14 years of age from social media platforms entirely and requires parental consent for 15 and 16-year-olds to create accounts.

The lawsuit also alleges that TikTok is violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by deceiving parents about the safety and appropriateness of the content their children will have access to. TikTok advertises itself on the app store as being appropriate for children 13 years and older, and characterizes mature themes including sex content, drug content, profanity, self-harm/suicide, and eating disorders as "mild" and "infrequent" - a claim that is blatantly false. These themes are present very frequently on the app, and are often shown/discussed in graphic detail.

Beyond TikTok's failures to protect children, it also deliberately targets children as its intended users. TikTok's business model is built to prey upon addictive behaviors, which children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable to experiencing. Attorney General Uthmeier further alleges that TikTok has internally been aware of the dangers to children for years and has knowingly ignored them.

To read a copy of the lawsuit, click here.

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