Florida Attorney General Sues TikTok Over Minor Accounts and Safety Claims

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has sued TikTok, ByteDance, and related entities, accusing the company of violating a new state law that restricts minors’ social media accounts and misleading parents about the app’s safety for young users.

The complaint, filed June 15 in St. Lucie County Circuit Court, claims TikTok continues to give underage users access to the regular app. The state says the company allows 14- and 15-year-olds to sign up without parental consent and children younger than 14 to hold accounts, in violation of Florida’s Online Protections for Minors law.

The law, created as part of Florida’s recent push to regulate minors’ social media use, took effect Jan. 1, 2025. The statute targets platforms that combine large numbers of young users with personalized feeds and repeat-use tools that the state links to compulsive use.

TikTok’s design is central to Florida’s case. The state says the app includes every “addictive feature” identified in the minor social media law, including infinite scrolling, push notifications, personal interactive metrics, autoplay videos, and live streaming. Court filings also cite TikTok’s personalized recommendations and For You Feed as part of an app experience alleged to encourage repeated use by young users.

State lawyers tie TikTok’s design choices to its advertising model, arguing that longer viewing sessions allow the company to show more ads, collect more user data, and sell more targeted advertising opportunities.

A separate claim relies on the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the state’s main consumer protection lawconsumer protection lawConsumer protection law is the body of federal and state laws designed to protect people from unfair, deceptive, fraudulent, or abusive practices in the marketplace. These laws regulate areas such as advertising, sales, lending, debt collection, credit reporting, warranties, financial services, and consumer products.Read more →. The statute applies to business practices that could mislead consumers, including marketing claims, safety statements, and omissions. Florida argues TikTok violated that standard by presenting the app as safer and more age-appropriate than alleged in the filing.

Content descriptions and app store ratings are also part of the deception claim. Apple’s App Store previously listed TikTok as 12+ and now lists it as 13+, while Google Play and Microsoft stores rate the app as “T for Teen.” Florida argues the ratings are inaccurate because TikTok described mature content as infrequent or mild, despite what the state claims are higher levels of sexual content, profanity, drug-related material, and other adult themes available to young users.

A similar allegation concerns TikTok’s parental control tools. The state says Restricted Mode and Family Pairing were promoted as safeguards for teens, but allegedly did not meaningfully restrict mature content or curb excessive use.

The lawsuit also includes a public nuisance claim, a legal theory used when alleged conduct affects rights shared by the community. State lawyers argue TikTok’s design choices and safety representations harmed public health and safety across Florida, especially for children and teens.

In addition to requesting a jury trial, the filing asks the court to block future violations, impose civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, and award additional relief under Florida law.