Texas judge rules TikTok misled users on child safety feature

(This Sept 10 story ‌has been ​repeated ​with no changes to text.)

Sept 10 (Reuters) - A Texas judge ruled on Thursday that TikTok violated the state's ‌consumer protection law by misleading users about how ⁠it filtered content for minors and whether its "Restricted Mode" feature shielded children ‌from inappropriate material.

• Texas sued ‌TikTok in January 2025, alleging it marketed its platform as safe for children.

• TikTok did not immediately respond to ​a request for comment outside regular business hours.

• According to the ruling, Texas said TikTok told users it ⁠would remove content that violated its Community Guidelines, but internally classified some of that ​material as "hard to find" rather than "do not allow," allowing it to remain on the platform. Judge ​Cory Liu agreed that the practice ‌violated the state's consumer protection law.

• Liu also said Texas had established that TikTok's "Restricted Mode" did ⁠not work as advertised and exposed minors to content the company said would be filtered out.

• The office of Texas Attorney ⁠General Ken Paxton said the case will now proceed to trial, where ​penalties and other remedies would be determined. The trial is expected to be scheduled next month, according to Paxton's office.

• TikTok in August ‌agreed to settle three U.S. lawsuits brought by young people who accuse social media companies of ‌designing their platforms to be addictive and harming their mental ⁠health. Separately in August, ‌Meta agreed to pay ​up to $18 billion to settle U.S. addiction claims.

(Reporting by Sathvi G Bhat in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom ‌Hogue)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Paris police chief says student protest movement out of control, urges peaceful action
• Pakistan summons Indian diplomat over killing of two civilians at border
• France to step up Ebola funding in Congo amid resurgence fears, minister says