On Wednesday, the State of Indiana filed two lawsuits against TikTok which claims the media giant has deceived consumers regarding its content and data security, at the same time many in Congress on both sides of the aisle sound the alarm for its connections to China and influence it’s content has on children.
The lawsuit filed by Indiana is the first of its kind against the company and the Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance Ltd. The first complaint alleges that the algorithm used by TikTok promotes content not appropriate for children and creates an addiction by the young users. In the complaint, the lawsuit cites numerous studies conducted amongst children which concluded that the platform can create mental disorder such as an eating disorder and depression.
According to Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, “TikTok is actively exposing our children to drug use, alcohol abuse, profanity and sexually explicit material at a young age. TikTok is deceiving Indiana parents.”
In the second lawsuit filed against TikTok, the complaint alleges that the parent company based in China has the ability to use data collected by TikTok to possibly spy on, blackmail and coerce users to act against the national security and economic interests of the United States. The end goal of the lawsuits is to change fundamental practices at the company and financially penalize the company for each violation.
In recent weeks, many other states are becoming aware of the problem and the possible security concerns. On Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott banned the app’s use on any government-issued device suggesting that China will not be able to surveil or collect data on Texans.
In a letter to Texas agency leaders, the Governor wrote, “This TikTok ban extends to all state-issued cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and other devices capable of internet connectivity, and it must be strictly enforced.”
TikTok has not commented on the newly filed lawsuits but reiterated, “the safety, privacy and security of our community is our top priority. We build youth well-being into our policies, limit features by age, empower parents with tools and resources, and continue to invest in new ways to enjoy content based on age-appropriateness or family comfort. We are also confident that we’re on a path in our negotiations with the U.S. Government to fully satisfy all reasonable U.S. national security concerns.”
“We believe the concerns driving these decisions are largely fueled by misinformation about our company,” TikTok said in a statement released regarding states banning their app on government-issued devices.
In Washington, lawmakers are discussing a national ban as numerous governors begin banning the app from all government devices.