Texas AG Ken Paxton Takes Legal Action Against TikTok for Violating Minors’ Privacy Laws

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the social media platform of violating the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act, also known as the SCOPE Act. This Texas law safeguards adolescents by prohibiting digital service providers from disclosing personal information without parental consent.

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The lawsuit alleges that TikTok allows minors to establish accounts without providing parents with access to their children's privacy preferences or account information, which violates the SCOPE Act's requirements. The complaint emphasizes that TikTok collects, stores, and processes a diverse array of personal data from juveniles during their interactions with the platform.

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Users' dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, device settings, and details about their interactions, including videos viewed, liked, or shared, accounts followed, comments made, content created, video captions, noises, and hashtags used, are among the information that TikTok is collecting.

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Paxton pledged to hold TikTok and other technology companies accountable for their actions, particularly in relation to the safety and privacy of Texas minors online, in a statement. "He stated that Texas law mandates that social media companies implement measures to safeguard children online and furnish parents with the necessary resources to do the same." "TikTok and other social media companies are obligated to fulfill their obligations in accordance with Texas law."

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This lawsuit underscores the ongoing concerns regarding the privacy and safety of minors in the digital era, as legislators continue to scrutinize the practices of major tech companies.

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