OMM Redaksiyası
A judge in Texas has ruled that TikTok misled users about protecting minors on its platform. The court found that the company violated the state’s consumer protection law over its content filters and Restricted Mode feature.
Texas sued TikTok in January 2025, accusing the platform of presenting itself as safe for children while failing to provide the protection it had promised.
According to the ruling, Texas argued that TikTok had said it would remove content violating its Community Guidelines. However, some materials were classified internally not as content that should be removed from the platform, but as material that was “difficult to find.” As a result, the content remained accessible to users.
Judge Corey Liu said the practice violated Texas’ consumer protection law. Liu also said Texas had demonstrated that TikTok’s Restricted Mode did not operate as advertised. According to the court, the feature did not prevent minors from encountering content that the company had said would be filtered.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours.
The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the case will move to the next stage of judicial proceedings. Fines and other legal measures will be determined during the court review. The proceedings are expected to be scheduled for next month.
The ruling comes as TikTok and other social media companies face growing legal pressure over the impact of their platforms on young users. In August, TikTok reached settlements in three US lawsuits brought by young people who alleged that social media companies designed their platforms to be addictive and harmed their mental health.
Meta separately agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve addiction-related claims in the United States.
