Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird sued TikTok for deceiving Iowans, particularly parents, by lying about children’s widespread access to inappropriate content on its social-media app.
“TikTok has kept parents in the dark,” said Attorney General Bird. “It’s time we shine a light on TikTok for exposing young children to graphic materials such as sexual content, self-harm, illegal drug use, and worse. TikTok has sneaked past parental blocks by misrepresenting the severity of its content. But no longer. As a mom and prosecutor, I am committed to equipping parents with information to keep their kids safe and to holding TikTok accountable.”
The lawsuit explains that TikTok:
- Claims a “12+” rating in Apple’s App Store, despite frequent and intense adult content, including:
- Sexual content and nudity
- Profanity and crude humor
- Mature and suggestive themes
- Alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use
- Works around parental controls on Apple devices by wrongfully rating its app “12+.”
- Violates App Store guidelines by saying harmful content is “infrequent/mild” when it is actually “frequent/intense.”
- Recommends inappropriate content to children as young as 13.
Original source can be found here.