TikTok faces lawsuit in Texas over child privacy breach

TikTok is facing a lawsuit in Texas over claims of illegally sharing children’s personal information.

Texas has sued TikTok, accusing the platform of violating children's privacy laws by sharing minors' data without parental consent.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of violating children’s privacy laws. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok shared personal information of minors without parental consent, in breach of Texas’s Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE Act).

The legal action seeks an injunction and civil penalties, with fines up to $10,000 per violation. Paxton claims TikTok failed to provide adequate privacy tools for children and allowed data to be shared from accounts set to private. Targeted advertising to children was also a concern raised in the lawsuit.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is being held responsible for allegedly prioritising profits over child safety. Paxton stressed the importance of holding large tech companies accountable for their role in protecting minors online.

The case was filed in Galveston County court, with TikTok yet to comment on the matter. The lawsuit represents a broader concern about the protection of children’s online privacy in the digital age.