Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced that his office has filed a lawsuit in Shawnee County District Court against social media company TikTok. The suit alleges that TikTok misrepresented its age-appropriateness in app stores, deceived parents about the effectiveness of its parental tools, and promoted an addictive app that negatively impacts the mental health of Kansas children.
"TikTok deceived parents by saying that the app was safe and age appropriate. In reality, the app has promoted filth, profanity, sexual content, and alcohol and drugs to Kansas kids. Even worse, it has used coercive algorithms that spike dopamine, keep kids on the app as long as possible, and facilitate downward mental health spirals. Kansas parents deserve the truth about the harm the app causes to young users, and Kansas kids should be protected," Kobach stated.
The lawsuit claims TikTok knew its app was not safe for children when it was released in 2017. The company is accused of misleading parents by marketing its app as suitable for children aged 12 and older while exposing them to significant amounts of inappropriate content.
"Parents and caregivers believe their children are protected from images of intense sexual content, illicit drug use, and videos encouraging vaping and tobacco use because TikTok deceives parents into believing the company hides this content from children. In reality, this company created an app intentionally to hook Kansas children onto their salacious, dangerous, and damaging content at the price of those children's mental health. This damage will echo far into the future of our state, and TikTok must answer for its actions," said Deputy Attorney General Fran Oleen.
According to the petition, TikTok's "restricted mode" and "family pairing" tools are ineffective in keeping Kansas children safe. The suit also asserts that TikTok adversely affects youth mental health.
"Kids in Kansas have been bombarded with problematic TikTok videos while lost in the addictive grip of TikTok's auto scroll that affects not only their attention spans but their mental health. Youth in Kansas frequently find themselves in an infinite hole of TikTok videos that tell them they are not good enough or attractive enough. These videos are often paired with advice on how to evade parents' detection of eating disorders," said Assistant Attorney General Sarah Dietz. "TikTok has misrepresented itself as safe while it purposefully addicted minors and wreaked havoc on their mental health. Even when parents and caregivers try to create a safe environment for their children by using parental controls, they are deceived by TikTok's false representations that the parental controls are effective."
The Office of the Kansas Attorney General is alleging multiple violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. The state seeks civil penalties of $10,000 per violation and enhanced civil penalties of $20,000 for deceptive acts against protected consumers.
Oleen and Dietz from the Office of the Kansas Attorney General along with Special Assistant Attorneys General David Thompson, Brian Barnes, Megan Wold, and Athie Livas from Cooper & Kirk PLLC represent Kansas in this suit.