Florida sues TikTok over state child-safety law
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued TikTok on Tuesday, alleging it violates the state’s law barring social media platforms from letting children under 14 create accounts, The Hill reported . The complaint, filed in state court in St. Lucie County, also accuses the company of misrepresenting how much violent or sexual content underage users can be exposed to. It seeks a court order forcing TikTok into compliance with Florida’s H.B. 3, which requires parental consent for users under 16, along with financial damages.
A TikTok spokesperson said the company has been engaging with the attorney general’s office, has notified users under 14 in Florida that their accounts will be suspended, and is continuing to update the platform to meet state requirements.
The suit is the latest in a wave of state actions — including by Indiana, Louisiana, and New York — testing whether age-gating and content-disclosure mandates can be enforced against major platforms. Florida’s H.B. 3 has faced its own constitutional challenges, so the case will also probe how much of the law survives as the state moves to enforce it.