Mon Oct 07 21:43:59 UTC 2024: ## Texas Sues TikTok Over Child Privacy Law, First Test of New Legislation
**Austin, TX** – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, marking the first legal challenge to the state’s recently enacted “Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment” (SCOPE) Act. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok violates the law by failing to provide adequate parental control features.
The SCOPE Act, which went into effect just over a month ago, requires social media platforms to verify the ages of younger users and offer parental controls, including the ability to opt children out of data collection. Paxton argues that TikTok’s existing parental controls are insufficient, specifically pointing to the “Family Pairing” tool that requires parents to create their own TikTok accounts and allows teenagers to decline parental monitoring requests.
“Defendants do not provide the parents or guardians of users known to be 13 to 17 years old with parental tools that allow them to control or limit most of a known minor’s privacy and account settings,” the lawsuit states.
TikTok has refuted these allegations, asserting that they offer robust safeguards for teens and parents, including the Family Pairing tool, which they say is publicly available. “We strongly disagree with these allegations and, in fact, we offer robust safeguards for teens and parents,” the company stated. “We stand by the protections we provide families.”
This lawsuit comes amidst a wave of legal challenges facing TikTok in the United States. The company is currently fighting a law that could lead to a nationwide ban and facing a separate lawsuit from the Justice Department regarding child privacy. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for other social media platforms operating in Texas and potentially across the country.
First Piper 