The State of Texas on Thursday sued social media platform TikTok for violating a Texas law enacted to protect children’s online privacy.
The lawsuit alleged that TikTok breached provisions of the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, which came into effect on September 1, 2024, and places obligations on digital service providers to provide parental control tools and privacy protections.
The state put forward three alleged violations under SCOPE. The first relates to Section 509.101 of the law, which requires TikTok to provide commercially reasonable tools in its app to allow guardians and parents to verify their identity and relationship with a minor. The second alleged violation falls under Section 509.052, which prohibits digital service providers from sharing, disclosing, and selling minors’ personal identifying information to third parties without permission from the verified parent. Finally, the state argued TikTok has violated Section 509.054, which requires digital service providers to provide parental supervision tools that would allow a parent to control privacy and account settings, including disclosure of a minor’s personal information to third parties.
The lawsuit asserted that TikTok has violated these sections of the SCOPE Act by not providing guardian verification or parental control tools and selling or disclosing minors’ personal information to third parties such as business partners and search engines without consent. Texas is seeking $10,000 per violation.
In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated:
I will continue to hold TikTok and other Big Tech companies accountable for exploiting Texas children and failing to prioritize minors’ online safety and privacy. Texas law requires social media companies to take steps to protect kids online and requires them to provide parents with tools to do the same. TikTok and other social media companies cannot ignore their duties under Texas law.
TikTok in the US has recently faced significant legal scrutiny. In April, the platform became subject to a sanctions bill that requires its parent company, ByteDance, to find a new owner for TikTok by the end of 2024. Additionally, other US states such as Montana have taken action against TikTok, attempting to ban the app entirely in their state. In response, TikTok issued a constitutional challenge against the US government, asserting its First Amendment free speech rights. That challenge will be decided by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
