On Tuesday, April 29, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the State of Alabama has filed a lawsuit against social media company TikTok for exploiting children. 

Marshall filed the lawsuit with Montgomery County Circuit Court against TikTok Inc., and ByteDance Inc., in an effort to “hold TikTok accountable” for what Marshall says is fueling a mental health crisis among Alabama youth. 

“Today we join concerned parents across our state to stand up for Alabama’s children.  TikTok preys on young people, feeding them dangerous and damaging content while lying to parents about how safe the app really is. This platform was designed to addict kids and put profits ahead of the mental health of an entire generation,” Marshall said. “TikTok’s so-called ‘safety features’ are a joke. They are nothing more than a marketing ploy to trick parents into trusting a product that TikTok knows full well is dangerous. Alabama families deserve the truth, and we will make sure they get it.”

The state’s lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s algorithm is engineered to keep minors “endlessly scrolling and exposing them to content that promotes depression, eating disorders, self-harm and drug use,” along with what it describes as “dangerous viral challenges.” The lawsuit also alleges that TikTok’s “Kids Mode” and “Restricted Mode” are ineffective and easily bypassed, which leaves children vulnerable to exploitation. 

“Over 1/3 of its daily users in the United States are 14 (years old) or younger,” Marshall’s complaint reads. “TikTok’s capture of the American youth market is no accident but is instead the result of a carefully executed campaign.”

Marshall also alleges that ByteDance, the Chinese corporation which owns TikTok, has focused on “gathering as much data on users as possible.” Marshall said that China “mines sensitive American data” and that TikTok and ByteDance knowingly commit “espionage” against Americans’ personal information. 

The lawsuit filed by Marshall seeks civil penalties under Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, along with compensatory and punitive damages to the State of Alabama, and “injunctive relief to ensure that the company’s misleading practices pertaining to youth safety are discontinued.”