Florida's Attorney General has taken aim at TikTok, declaring that time is up for the popular video app over the way it exposes children to danger. Speaking about the action, the Attorney General, James Uthmeier, described TikTok as one of the most egregious social media applications when it comes to the risks placed at the fingertips of young users. The move marks an escalation in the state's effort to confront platforms it says harm minors.
At the center of the complaint are the kinds of content and design features the state says put children at risk. Officials pointed to harmful sexual content reaching minors, as well as addictive features built into the app. These include unlimited scrolling, constant push notifications and a stream of videos that never seems to stop, all of which, the state argues, are engineered to hold young users' attention.
According to the Attorney General's office, those design choices translate into extraordinary amounts of screen time. The evidence cited suggests that many children are spending upwards of six, seven, eight or more hours a day on TikTok. The stated goal of the action is to push back against that pattern and, in the office's words, to get children their lives back from the platform.
The action is anchored in Florida's House Bill 3, the state's online child protection law. Passed about two years ago, the legislation establishes that children under 16 are not permitted to be on social media applications. Officials credited the measure as a landmark piece of legislation and singled out Representative Chip Lamarca for helping lead the effort to put those protections in place.
TikTok is not the only platform in the state's sights. The Attorney General said his office has already taken both criminal and civil action against the gaming app Roblox, which he described as a preferred venue for predators seeking to target children. The TikTok action, officials indicated, fits into this wider campaign against companies accused of deceiving parents and exposing minors to danger.
In its formal complaint, the state alleges that TikTok allows Florida users younger than 14 to create accounts without first obtaining parental consent, which it says runs afoul of the state's online child protection rules. Responding to the action, TikTok said it was built with safety at its core and that it had been engaging constructively and in good faith with the Attorney General. The company said it was evaluating the state's complaint and was prepared to defend its record on protecting minors.
The Attorney General framed the move as part of a sustained record of enforcement on child safety. His office said it has arrested more than 1,700 child predators over roughly the past year and a half and is pursuing businesses that mislead parents about the risks their products pose. With the action against TikTok, Florida is signaling that it intends to keep using both its child protection law and the courts to hold major platforms accountable.