Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced today that the State of Alabama has filed a lawsuit against social media platform TikTok Inc. and its parent company ByteDance Inc., alleging the companies have exploited children, promoted harmful content, and misrepresented the safety of their platform. The lawsuit was filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
According to the complaint, the State accuses TikTok of contributing to a growing mental health crisis among youth by delivering addictive and damaging content through algorithms that target minors. The suit further asserts that the platform’s safety features, including “Kids Mode” and “Restricted Mode,” are ineffective and easily circumvented, exposing young users to harmful material such as drug use, self-harm, and dangerous viral challenges.
“Today we join concerned parents across our state to stand up for Alabama’s children,” Marshall stated in a press release. He accused TikTok of prioritizing profit over child safety and described the platform’s parental controls as inadequate. “Alabama families deserve the truth, and we will make sure they get it,” he said.
Among the legal remedies sought, the State is pursuing civil penalties under Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. It also seeks injunctive relief to stop what the lawsuit describes as misleading practices regarding youth safety.
TikTok has not publicly responded to the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon. The company has previously stated in similar cases that it takes user safety seriously, especially for younger users, and has implemented various tools to manage screen time and content exposure.
The lawsuit comes amid ongoing scrutiny of social media platforms nationwide over their impact on children’s mental health and data privacy, and follows similar legal action taken by other states.
