Utah has become the third US state to file a lawsuit against TikTok, claiming the app knowingly made addicts out of the state’s children.
Utah officials alleged that ‘the social media giant illegally baits children into addictive and unhealthy use, misrepresents the app’s safety,’ and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its China-based parent company.’
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox announced the suit Tuesday, joining Indiana and Arkansas which have made similar allegations.
The lawsuit seeks to force TikTok to change its ‘destructive behavior’ while imposing fines and penalties to fund education efforts and otherwise address the damage done to Utah children.
Officials 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 are on board with a TikTok ban and agree with the social media platform that such a law violates their freedom of expression.
Utah officials alleged that ‘the social media giant illegally baits children into addictive and unhealthy use, misrepresents the app’s safety,’ and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its China-based parent company’
And tech companies would be required to grant parents access to their children’s accounts, including private messages.
A TikTok spokesperson told DailyMail.com: ‘”TikTok has industry-leading safeguards 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 tackling industry-wide challenges.’
Officials said that TikTok’s ‘conduct’ in the state is concerning because it has the largest percentage of children per capita in the nation – more than 27 percent of Utahans are under 18.
‘We will no longer tolerate TikTok misleading parents that its app is safe for children,’ said Gov. Cox. ‘Social media companies must be held responsible for the harm they are causing.
‘The experts — from the U.S. Surgeon General and behavioral science researchers to parents and teens — all 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 baits children into addictive and unhealthy use, misrepresents the app’s safety,’ and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its China-based parent company ByteDance.’
TikTok’s goal, the lawsuit states, in converting so many youngsters into addicts is to convert their attention ‘into advertising dollars.’
The Utah lawsuit is similar to an action brought against TikTok by Indiana in December. That case is pending in state court.
Arkansas sued TikTok and Facebook-parent Meta in March ‘for pushing addictive platforms.’
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox announced the suit Tuesday, joining Indiana and Arkansas which have made similar allegations
On Thursday, a judge will hear arguments in TikTok’s lawsuit seeking to block Montana’s first-of-its-kind state ban on TikTok before it takes effect January 1.
Montana’s legislature approved legislation to ban TikTok, citing spying concerns.
However, TikTok countersued the state in May for its state-wide ban of its app, claiming it violates its First Amendment rights.
Montana is the first state to attempt to ban TikTok – a maneuver that has already resulted in multiple federal suits alleging unjust censorship – despite Bejing’s own appalling free speech record.
But many Americans say banning a social media platform is fundamentally un-American.
Gavin Dees, a TikToker with over one million followers but would not disclose how much money he makes, told DailyMail.com: ‘Fighting for TikTok is not fighting for an app. It’s fighting for the right to speak.
‘It’s fighting for even people I may not fully believe the same way. I believe in your right to believe that and to speak about that so. And TikTok allows for that in a way we’ve never seen.’
However, on the other side of the aisle are those who favor the ban – A CBS poll in March showed 61 percent of adults want to see the app disappear.
‘I think, as far as Congress, the privacy issue is valid,’ Dees said.
‘But my problem with the whole thing, what made me feel some way about it, as we’re assuming that TikTok, or this company [ByteDance], is acting in a way that other platforms aren’t, like Twitter and Facebook.
‘Things [about Twitter and Facebook] have been proven, so now, the hypocrisy is that you don’t care about privacy.
‘[Congress cares] about something deeper about this platform, even though you may be talking like here about privacy and data, and all of this different stuff, like there’s other platforms that have been doing this for years decade.’
Dees also said that while the narrative of TikTok is it is a child’s app, at least 60 percent of his followers are over 34.
