Texas Sues TikTok Over Illegal Sharing Of Minors' Personal Data

Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas has filed legal action against TikTok, accusing the social media company of unlawfully sharing children's personal identifying information without obtaining consent from their parents or legal guardians.

"I will continue to hold TikTok and other Big Tech companies accountable for exploiting Texas children and failing to prioritize minors' online safety and privacy," Paxton said in a statement.

"Texas law requires social media companies to take steps to protect kids online and requires them to provide parents with tools to do the same. TikTok and other social media companies cannot ignore their duties under Texas law," he added.

The lawsuit, filed in Galveston County, is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation and injunction against further breach.

Texas' Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act forbids digital service providers, such as TikTok from sharing, disclosing, or selling a minor's personal identifying information without obtaining permission from parents or legal guardians.

The lawsuit states that TikTok allegedly collects identifying information and data about users, including name, age, address, "approximate" location and more.

The SCOPE law, which came into effect in September this year, requires companies to provide parents with tools to manage the account settings on their child's account.

Paxton alleged that TikTok has not complied with this requirement by allowing information from private settings to be shared to third parties, such as advertisers and search engines. Additionally, the platform displays advertisements targeting children, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, TikTok offers a "family pairing" feature that allows parents to link their accounts with teenagers and set controls, but parents need not verify their identity using a "commercially reasonable method," as required by Texas law. Also, the minor must agree to the pairing.

In response, TikTok refuted the allegations in the lawsuit and stated that the company provides strict safeguards protecting minor data.

"We strongly disagree with these allegations and, in fact, we offer robust safeguards for teens and parents, including family pairing, all of which are publicly available," TikTok spokesperson, Jason Grosse wrote in an emailed statement to Lawyer Monthly.

Grosse said TikTok's privacy policies state that the company does not sell personal information and that personal data is not disclosed "where restricted by applicable law."

The TikTok lawsuit follows a decision made by a federal district court judge in August, who temporarily halted the implementation of a portion of the social media legislation while the ongoing legal dispute regarding the law's constitutionality unfolds.

Owned by China's ByteDance, TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms that allows users to create, watch, and share short videos.