The US state of Indiana has filed a lawsuit against popular social media app TikTok.
Its Attorney General Todd Rokita has accused TikTok’s parent company ByteDance of violating state consumer protection laws.
Two lawsuits were filed on Wednesday. The first claims that the app exposes young users to inappropriate content.
In a second complaint, Mr. Rokita also alleged that TikTok does not disclose the Chinese government’s ability to access sensitive user information.
“Tik Tok is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” according to court documents.
“As long as TikTok is allowed to deceive and mislead Indiana consumers about the risks to their data, those consumers and their privacy are easy prey.”
The complaint states that the app’s algorithm promotes a variety of inappropriate content, including “alcohol, tobacco, and drug imagery; sexual content, nudity, and provocative themes; and extreme profanity.”
It also claims that Apple and Google cheat young users with age ratings of 12 and over on the App Stores.
Indiana is seeking an injunction against the company for its conduct and civil penalties for its “unfair and deceptive practices.”
Mr. Rokita said that this is the first case filed by the US state against Bite Dance.
ByteDance and TikTok did not respond to JEE News request for comment.
The announcement of the lawsuit comes after other US states passed legislation to ban TikTok. Texas, South Dakota and South Carolina have banned the use of TikTok on state government devices.
Last month, the head of the FBI said that TikTok was a national security concern.
Its director, Chris Ray, told the US House Homeland Security Committee that Chinese law essentially requires companies to “do whatever the government asks them to do in terms of sharing information or acting as a tool of the Chinese government.” I will.”
The Biden administration has been in talks with TikTok officials for months as they try to reach a national security deal to protect the data of millions of its users in the United States.
TikTok also faces legal challenges elsewhere. In Britain, the social media company could face a £27m ($29m) fine for failing to protect children’s privacy when they use the platform.
