TikTok safety feature left children exposed to inappropriate content, judge rules
A Texas court found TikTok in violation of state consumer protection laws after ruling that the social media platform misled the public about its underage content filtering and the effectiveness of its "Restricted Mode" safety settings.
Texas initially launched the legal action in January 2025, alleging the company falsely marketed its service as safe for younger audiences.
TikTok did not immediately reply to requests for comment submitted outside standard working hours.
According to the ruling by Judge Cory Liu, state prosecutors showed that while TikTok assured users it would remove material breaching its Community Guidelines, the firm internally labeled certain rule-breaking posts as "hard to find" rather than "do not allow," allowing the content to stay online.
Judge Liu concluded that this dual approach violated state consumer-protection statutes.
The judge further noted that Texas successfully proved the platform's "Restricted Mode" failed to perform as advertised, leaving underage users exposed to inappropriate media that TikTok claimed would be blocked.
Following the decision, the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the lawsuit will now move to trial to determine financial penalties and further court remedies. Officials from Paxton’s office expect to finalize the trial date within the coming month.
The Texas decision arrives amid widespread legal scrutiny facing major digital networks over youth safety. In August, TikTok agreed to resolve three separate American lawsuits brought by minors who alleged the company intentionally designed its platform to be addictive, damaging their mental health.
Around the same time, Meta Platforms reached a landmark agreement to pay up to $18 billion to settle similar youth addiction claims across the United States.
Under Meta's decade-long agreement with nearly every US state, the technology giant will disburse up to $18 billion and impose strict new limits on how teenagers interact with Facebook and Instagram.
The deal resolved a major federal court proceeding over accusations that Meta concealed safety risks and harmed young users. Before the resolution, four participating states—California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey—had sought nearly $200 billion in potential civil penalties.
Regarding TikTok’s separate legal compromises, plaintiff attorney Joseph VanZandt confirmed that the terms of the three youth addiction settlements remain confidential until formal written contracts are finalized.
These individual legal battles represent a fraction of the thousands of claims currently consolidated within the California court system. While TikTok settled its specific test cases, ongoing claims against Meta, Google’s YouTube, and Snap Inc’s Snapchat are proceeding toward an October trial.
The three bellwether cases TikTok settled involved minor plaintiffs identified only by their initials. They were selected from approximately 3,300 consolidated lawsuits managed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl concerning allegations of social media addiction and youth harm.
The technology companies involved have consistently rejected the allegations, maintaining that they deploy extensive safeguards and tools designed to protect adolescent users on their platforms.
