Utah has become the third US state to file a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging that the app knowingly addicted the state’s children.
Utah officials alleged that “the social media giant illegally misleads children into addictive and unhealthy use, misrepresents the app’s safety” and deceptively presents itself as independent of its China-based parent company.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox announced the lawsuit Tuesday, joining Indiana and Arkansas that have made similar allegations.
The lawsuit seeks to force TikTok to change its “destructive behavior” while imposing fines and penalties to fund educational efforts and address harm caused to Utah children.
Authorities are also seeking a digital curfew for minors, requiring parental consent to sign up for social media apps and forcing companies to verify the ages of all their Utah users.
However, not all Americans agree with the TikTok ban and agree with the social media platform that such a law violates their freedom of speech.
Utah officials alleged that “the social media giant illegally misleads children into addictive and unhealthy use, misrepresents the app’s safety” and deceptively presents itself as independent from its China-based parent company. .
And tech companies would be required to give parents access to their children’s accounts, including private messages.
A TikTok spokesperson told DailyMail.com: ‘”TikTok has industry-leading protections for young people, including an automatic 60-minute time limit for users under 18 and parental controls for teen accounts.
“We will continue to work to keep our community safe by addressing industry-wide challenges.”
Officials said TikTok’s ‘conduct’ in the state is concerning because it has the highest percentage of children per capita in the nation: More than 27 percent of Utahns are under 18 years old.
“We will no longer tolerate TikTok misleading parents by telling them its app is safe for children,” said Governor Cox. ‘Social media companies must be held responsible for the damage they are causing.
“Experts, from the U.S. Surgeon General and behavioral science researchers to parents and teens, agree that social media is affecting our children’s mental health and it’s time to intervene.”
Utah officials alleged that “the social media giant illegally misleads children into addictive and unhealthy use, misrepresents the app’s safety” and deceptively presents itself as independent of its China-based parent company ByteDance.
TikTok’s goal, the lawsuit claims, in turning so many young people into addicts is to convert their attention “into advertising dollars.”
Utah’s lawsuit is similar to an action filed against TikTok by Indiana in December. That case is pending in state court.
Arkansas sued TikTok and Facebook parent company Meta in March “for powering addictive platforms.”
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox announced the lawsuit Tuesday, joining Indiana and Arkansas that have made similar allegations.
On Thursday, a judge will hear arguments in TikTok’s lawsuit seeking to block the state’s ban on TikTok, the first of its kind in Montana, before it takes effect on Jan. 1.
The Montana legislature passed legislation to ban TikTok, citing spying concerns.
However, TikTok countersued the state in May over a statewide ban on its app, claiming it violates its First Amendment rights.
Montana is the first state to attempt to ban TikTok, a move that has already led to multiple federal lawsuits alleging unfair censorship, despite Beijing’s terrible free speech record.
But many Americans say banning a social media platform is fundamentally un-American.
Gavin Dees, a TikToker with more than a million followers but who did not reveal how much money he makes, told DailyMail.com: ‘Fighting for TikTok is not fighting for an app. He is fighting for the right to speak.
‘It’s a struggle even for people who maybe I don’t quite believe in the same way. I believe in your right to believe that and talk about it like that. And TikTok allows it in a way we’ve never seen before.”
However, on the other side of the aisle are those who favor the ban: A CBS poll in March showed that 61 percent of adults want the app to go away.
“I think, as far as Congress is concerned, the privacy issue is a valid one,” Dees said.
“But my problem with the whole thing, what made me feel any way about it, since we assume that TikTok, or this company [ByteDance]is acting in a way that other platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, do not.
‘Things [about Twitter and Facebook] they have been tested, so now the hypocrisy is that you don’t care about privacy.
‘[Congress cares] about something deeper about this platform, although you may be talking like here about privacy and data, and all these different things, like there are other platforms that have been doing this for years and decades.’
Dees also said that while TikTok’s narrative is that it is a kids’ app, at least 60 percent of its followers are over 34 years old.
