Utah sues TikTok, alleging it lures children into addictive and destructive social media habits
- The US state says the company misrepresents its app’s safety and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance
- The US Supreme Court is preparing to decide whether such state attempts to regulate social media platforms violate the Constitution
Utah became the US latest state on Tuesday to file a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the company is “baiting” children into addictive and unhealthy social media habits.
TikTok lures children into hours of social media use, misrepresents the app’s safety and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, Utah claims in the lawsuit.
“We will not stand by while these companies fail to take adequate, meaningful action to protect our children. We will prevail in holding social media companies accountable by any means necessary,” Republican Governor Spencer Cox said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Salt Lake City.
Arkansas and Indiana have filed similar lawsuits while the US Supreme Court prepares to decide whether state attempts to regulate social media platforms such as Facebook, X and TikTok violate the Constitution.
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Public health concerns are cited in the Utah lawsuit. Research has shown that children who spend more than three hours a day on social media double their risk of poor mental health, including anxiety and depression, the lawsuit alleges.