Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against TikTok on Thursday, alleging that the firm had shared and sold personal information belonging to minors, in violation of a recently passed state law intended to safeguard minors who use social media.
The Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit this week, alleging that TikTok violated the state’s SCOPE Act, which requires parental approval for children’s online activities.
The Legislature passed this law last year, and it went into partial effect on September 1.
The lawsuit was filed in a Galveston County court to hold TikTok liable for allegedly disclosing youngsters’ personal information without getting their permission.
According to the report, TikTok quickly denied the accusations within hours. Social media companies are explicitly prohibited by the Securing Children Online via Parental Empowerment Act from selling or distributing the personal information of children without the express consent of a parent or guardian.
It requires businesses to provide tools that allow verified parents to manage their underage children’s accounts.
In his legal lawsuit, Paxton said that TikTok, a platform primarily focused on short-form videos, has not adhered to these restrictions.
“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,” Paxton said in a news release.
“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.”
We earlier reported that the European Commission has sent a request for information to YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok under the Digital Services Act regarding the design and operation of their recommender algorithms.
