A Texas state district court (Judge Cory Liu) has found TikTok liable for lying to parents about the safety of its platform and for exposing children to inappropriate and explicit content, making Texas the first state in the nation to hold TikTok liable on these claims. The court found that although TikTok claimed it would remove graphic videos depicting drugs, nudity, alcohol, injuries, and profanity, such videos remained accessible to minors, even under 'Restricted Mode.' No penalty has been imposed yet; Attorney General Paxton will proceed to trial, expected next month, where relief and penalties will be determined.
No remedies have been imposed yet. The district court ruling establishes liability only; Attorney General Paxton will now proceed to trial against TikTok, where relief and penalties will be determined. The trial is expected to be set for next month.
In-house teams—especially those operating consumer apps or platforms accessible to minors, and those advertising on or integrating with social platforms—should review agreements for safety-related representations and warranties. Marketing, PR, and platform terms of service should be checked for 'safe for kids' or content-safety claims that must be substantiated, since TikTok was found liable for safety representations that did not match actual practice (graphic content remained available even under 'Restricted Mode'). Vendor and platform agreements should be reviewed for content moderation obligations, brand-safety and adjacency controls, SLAs for harmful-content removal, age verification and parental consent mechanisms, and compliance covenants tied to state minor-protection statutes such as the Texas SCOPE Act. Finally, indemnification, regulatory-liability allocation, and audit-rights clauses should be updated so the company can verify that promised safety controls actually function and that responsibility for deceptive-practices liability is clearly allocated.
Entity
TikTok
Industry
Social MediaOfficial Press Release
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-historic-victory-making-texas-first-state-nation-hold-tiktok
TikTok 1 Ruling
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/TikTok%201%20Ruling.pdf
Texas Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/privacy
"hold TikTok accountable for harming children"
"Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (“SCOPE”) Act"
"found TikTok liable for lying about its safety standards and concealing the truth about the prevalence of inappropriate and explicit material"
"deceptively marketing its app as safe for minors, despite regularly showing inappropriate and explicit material to children"
"Attorney General Paxton will now proceed to trial against TikTok, where relief and penalties will be determined."
"September 10, 2026 | Press Release"
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against TikTok for deceptively promoting its app as safe for children despite the prevalence of inappropriate and explicit content. The action alleges violations of the SCOPE Act, which protects children's online privacy, and follows a previous lawsuit regarding data privacy issues.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a bipartisan coalition of 14 attorneys general in filing lawsuits against TikTok on October 8, 2024, alleging the platform harmed children’s mental health through addictive features and violated COPPA by collecting and monetizing data from users under 13 without parental consent. The lawsuits seek to halt TikTok’s harmful practices, impose financial penalties including disgorgement of profits from illegal practices, and secure damages for affected users. TikTok is also accused of misrepresenting the effectiveness of its safety tools and failing to warn users about harms from dangerous viral challenges and beauty filters.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced that a coalition of 22 attorneys general is escalating efforts to force TikTok to comply with a multistate investigation into harm to youth mental health. TikTok has failed to fully comply with court orders to preserve evidence and produce documents, impeding the investigation. The coalition is urging a Tennessee court to enforce its orders.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against TikTok for violating the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act by sharing minors’ personal identifying information without parental consent and failing to provide parents with tools to manage their children’s account privacy settings. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation and injunctive relief to prevent future violations. TikTok is accused of prioritizing profit over the online safety and privacy of Texas children.
New Jersey is co-leading a multistate investigation into TikTok to determine if the platform violates consumer protection laws by using techniques that increase engagement among young users, potentially causing mental and physical harm. The investigation will examine what TikTok knows about these harms to children, teenagers, and young adults.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong requested a meeting with TikTok leadership to address the harmful impact of viral challenges like 'Devious Licks' and 'Slap a Teacher' on student and educator safety. The AG criticized TikTok's enforcement of its terms of service and urged reforms to prevent the spread of dangerous content.