The popular social media app TikTok has been sued by the
US state of Indiana.
Its attorney general Todd Rokita has accused TikTok's parent
company ByteDance of violating the state's consumer protections laws.
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The state alleges that the app fails to safeguard young
people and privacy.
However, TikTok said it considers youth well-being in its
policies and that it was confident it could satisfy US national security
concerns.
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Indiana filed two lawsuits on Wednesday. The first one
claims the app exposes young users to inappropriate content.
In the other complaint, Mr Rokita also alleges TikTok does
not disclose the Chinese government's potential to access sensitive consumer
information.
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"TikTok is a wolf in sheep's clothing," according
to court documents.
"As long as TikTok is permitted to deceive and mislead
Indiana consumers about the risks to their data, those consumers and their
privacy are easy prey."
The complaint says the app's algorithm promotes a variety of
inappropriate content, "depicting alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; sexual
content, nudity, and suggestive themes; and intense profanity."
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It also claims that deceives young users with age ratings of
12 and above on Apple and Google app stores.
Indiana is seeking an injunction against its practices and
civil penalties against the company for its "unfair and deceptive
conduct."
Mr Rokita said the lawsuits are the first launched by a US
state against ByteDance.
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A TikTok spokesperson said "the safety, privacy and
security of our community is our top priority".
The app has age-limiting and parental control features, the
firm said, and the company is investing in further content controls.
In addition, they said TikTok was confident it could address
"all reasonable US national security concerns".
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The announcement of the lawsuits come after other US states
have drafted legislation to ban TikTok. Texas, South Dakota and South Carolina
have prohibited the use of TikTok being used on state government devices.
Last month, the head of the FBI has said that TikTok poses a
national security concern.
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Its director Chris Wray told a the US House Homeland
Security Committee said Chinese law essentially requires companies to "do
whatever the government wants them to in terms of sharing information or
serving as a tool of the Chinese government."
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The Biden administration have been in talks with TikTok
officials for months as they try to reach a national security agreement to
protect the data of its hundreds of millions of users in the US.
TikTok is also facing legal challenges elsewhere. In the UK,
the social media company could face a £27m ($29m) fine for
failing to protect children's privacy when they are using the platform.
By Monica Miller || BBC News
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