Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues TikTok… Again

Attorney General Ken Paxton has already had a rocky relationship with the popular social media platform TikTok, but just recently, he has filed yet another lawsuit against the China-based app.

TikTok's Latest Lawsuit from Paxton

According to the Texas Tribune, Paxton argues that TikTok actually violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by indicating that the the app is safe for all ages, including children. They are also accused of not properly enforcing their community guidelines when users sign up.

In Paxton's filing, he includes numerous TikTok posts that contain highly inapproriate material that may violate their guidelines. Allegedly, there are ways that the app and certain content can circumvent parental controls on children's smartphones.

Paxton mentioned, in a recent statement, that "TikTok actively worked to deceive parents and lure children onto their app despite the presence of an overwhelming amount of profane and illicit material."

A ruling that takes place (or has taken place, depending on when this article is read) on Jan. 19 restricts the application being provided in app stores. The Supreme Court told the parent company, ByteDance, that they must sell TikTok by Jan. 19 in order to change the current stance.

TikTok's Past and Future

As previously mentioned, this is the second lawsuit that Paxton has filed against TikTok in just the last few months. The first suit was directed to claims that the app violated the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act by selling the personal info of minors without the consent from parents.

We will have to see how this plays out on the 19th of January. If you're reading this afterwards... then your phone may just have one less application that starts with a "T".