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TikTok is being sued by the US state of Indiana, alleging deception of its users about China’s access to their data.
The short-form video app, which has more than one billion users worldwide, also exposes children to inappropriate content relating to sex and drugs, say lawsuits filed by the office of attorney general Todd Tokita.
Mr Tokita, a Republican, described TikTok as a “malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users”.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is based in Beijing.
A spokesperson for the social media platform did not offer comment on the lawsuits, but the firm has been on the defensive this week as long-held concerns among several US states came to a head.
Texas governor Greg Abbott has ordered all state agencies to ban TikTok on government-issued devices, claiming the Chinese government posed a “serious threat” through the app.
“TikTok harvests vast amounts of data from its users’ devices – including when, where, and how they conduct internet activity – and offers this trove of potentially sensitive information to the Chinese government,” he said.
His counterparts in Maryland, South Dakota, and South Carolina have all made the same move.
TikTok vows to ‘fully satisfy’ US concerns
A spokesperson for TikTok said the bans are “largely fuelled by misinformation about our company”.
They said the company took user safety seriously, with the age requirement to make an account standing at 13, which was recently increased to 18 for those wishing to broadcast live.
“We build youth well-being into our policies, limit features by age, empower parents with tools and resources, and continue to invest in new ways to enjoy content based on age-appropriateness or family comfort,” they said.
“We’re also confident that we’re on a path in our negotiations with the US government to fully satisfy all reasonable US national security concerns, and we’ve…
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