Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is suing TikTok and its parent company for failing to comply with state laws, including one that restricts minors under age 14 from accessing social media platforms.
Uthmeier announced the civil lawsuit on Monday, accusing the company of harming children through social media addiction and misleading parents about the app’s dangerous content.
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“TikTok’s success hinges on its ability to addict children and teenagers to the platform,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “TikTok knowingly deceives parents and allows children to be exposed to harmful and inappropriate content in direct violation of Florida law. We have zero tolerance for companies that prioritize profit over children’s safety. TikTok should expect to be held accountable.”
The state alleges TikTok is violating Florida’s Online Protections for Minors Act, otherwise known as House Bill 3, by letting children under 14 create accounts and allowing 15 and 16-year-olds to do so without parental consent. The law, enacted at the start of 2025, restricts social media access for minors at those particular ages.
Championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), H.B. 3 marks one of the most restrictive social media laws in the country to date. The bill’s proponents argued it was necessary to protect the mental health of teenagers and pre-teens prone to actively consuming social media. TikTok has previously argued that age restrictions and bans on social media violate free speech protections.
Meanwhile, Florida accuses TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, of “openly defying” the public health measure.
“TikTok has built one of the world’s most popular social media platforms on the back of deception about the content on its platform, the mental health problems it causes in young people, and open defiance of Florida law,” the 66-page lawsuit states.
TikTok has also allegedly violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by misrepresenting when mature content on the platform is “infrequent” or “mild.” The complaint points to references to drugs, pornography, alcohol, profanity, and self-harm as mature content.
Florida takes issue with TikTok’s “13+” rating on Apple’s App Store, arguing the age should be raised to 16 or 18 under the App Store’s new rating system.
“There is no doubt that TikTok has been misrepresenting itself in Apple’s App Store,” the complaint reads. “TikTok continues to misrepresent its App Store content because content in every category TikTok claims to be ‘infrequent/mild’ is in fact ‘frequent/intense.’ Not only is this content available on the TikTok app, but TikTok’s algorithm recommends it to 13-year-old users.”
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Uthmeier demanded a jury trial and sought a court order legally requiring TikTok to comply with Florida law, for which the ByteDance-owned platform will be held financially liable. The lawsuit was filed in St. Lucie County Circuit Court within the 19th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
While announcing legal action against TikTok at a press conference, Uthmeier noted Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is the only social media company actively complying with the state’s age limits for minors.
