Attorney General Liz Murrill is suing TikTok in state court, alleging that the social media platform is purposefully exposing Louisiana’s youth to sexual content, violence and drug and alcohol use in an “endless scroll” that’s addictive and dreamlike.
The lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 8 in the 21st Judicial District Court in Livingston Parish, alleges TikTok’s practices violated the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law by exposing youths to content involving alcohol, tobacco and drugs, as well as sexual content and nudity and profanity or crude humor.
The attorney general’s lawsuit parallels separate actions by 13 other attorneys general in a bipartisan effort to prosecute the social media app for alleged consumer protection violations, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
“TikTok is targeting youth with content that shocks the conscience – and it’s designed to target young people and addict them to an endless scroll of extreme content that generates massive profits,” Murrill said in a prepared statement. “TikTok has knowingly been misleading the public about the content it’s serving up to kids. Parents deserve to know the truth, and Louisiana law, at the very least, requires TikTok to stop lying.”
TikTok will be held accountable for alleged harmful conduct, according to Murrill. But TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek told the Louisiana Record in an email that the company strongly disagrees with the allegations in the litigation, saying they are not accurate and misleading.
“We're proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we've done to protect teens, and we will continue to update and improve our product,” Haurek said. “We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features such as default screen-time limits, family pairing and privacy by default for minors under 16.”
The company has also attempted to work with state attorneys general for more than two years, he said, adding that TikTok is disappointed in the steps the officials have taken. They should have worked with the social media firm on constructive solutions to challenges in the industry, according to Haurek.
The Louisiana lawsuit seeks fines not exceeding $2,500 for each violation of the consumer protection statute, a declaration by the court that the defendants’ actions deceived Louisiana consumers, and attorney fees and court costs.
TikTok has said that inappropriate content appearing on the platform has been “infrequent” and “mild,” according to the lawsuit, which argues that such incidents happen in a more constant manner. Moreover, the company’s business model aims to maximize young people’s use of the app in order to boost revenues through the selling of targeted advertising, the complaint says.
“Users who register to use the TikTok app as 13-year-olds can readily find: recipes for ‘jungle juice’ and highly alcoholic drinks, including versions meant to mask the flavor of alcohol; women dancing provocatively in thong bikinis, including in close-up butt and crotch shots; advice and encouragement about using marijuana, vaping devices and hallucinogenic mushrooms; videos filmed inside schools set to music with extremely profane lyrics and explicit subject matter; and videos promoting eating disorders, suicide and self-harm.”
The complaint also asks the court for a preliminary and permanent injunction against TikTok so that it will cease what state officials allege are deceptive or false statements and conduct related to the app's content, including mature or suggestive themes, bullying and harm to children’s mental health.