- Minnesota AG Keith Ellison’s lawsuit against TikTok Inc. will proceed after a state court denied TikTok’s motion to dismiss claims alleging the platform violated Minnesota consumer-protection and money-transmission laws by using addictive design features to drive compulsive use among minors, misleading users about youth safety, and engaging in unlicensed virtual-currency activity.
- In the complaint (previously reported here), the AG’s office alleges TikTok knowingly designed features like algorithmic recommendations, infinite scroll, beauty filters, push notifications, and TikTok LIVE with virtual currency to exploit young users, while overstating the effectiveness of its safety, parental-control, and screen-time tools.
- The Hennepin County District Court rejected TikTok’s arguments that the claims are barred by Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, the First Amendment, and Minnesota pleading rules, allowing the suit for injunctive relief, civil penalties, and related relief to move forward.
- Minnesota’s lawsuit is one of many state actions challenging TikTok’s representations about child safety, including previously reported suits brought by Kentucky, Utah, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, and Hawai’i.