Texas has become the first state to hold TikTok liable for breaking consumer protection laws by deceiving parents and exposing minors to harmful material. A judge ruled on Thursday that the platform misled the public about how it filters content for underage users and the effectiveness of its safety settings when in “Restricted Mode.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit in 2025, saying TikTok intentionally misled consumers when it marketed its social media platform as safe for kids, despite “regularly showing inappropriate and explicit material to children.”
“TikTok sacrificed the safety and innocence of children for engagement and numbers, and now they are being held accountable. Texas is now the first state in the nation to hold TikTok liable for lying to parents about the safety of its platform and exposing children to harmful content,” Paxton said in a statement.
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First in the nation
Judge Cory Liu ruled that TikTok violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promising to remove material that breached its Community Guidelines and then not doing so. Liu found that TikTok internally labeled certain posts as “hard to find” rather than “do not allow,” which kept them online.
The judge also said the state successfully proved TikTok’s “Restricted Mode” failed to perform as advertised, leaving underage users exposed to inappropriate media that the platform had previously claimed would be blocked. Liu specifically pointed to TikTok’s pledge that it would remove graphic depictions of drugs, alcohol, nudity, and violence from kids’ feeds.
The ruling could set a precedent for other states to hold social media companies legally accountable for marketing their products in ways that hide potential dangers.
“I will continue to go after TikTok and every social media company that exposes children to predators, inappropriate content, addictive features, or any other dangerous aspect of their platforms,” Paxton vowed after the ruling. “I will never stop fighting to protect Texas children.”
Fear No Fact.
At least 63% of U.S. teenagers aged 13 to 17 use TikTok, according to the Pew Research Center.
Not the only lawsuit
This isn’t the only lawsuit TikTok faces from Texas. The state previously sued TikTok for violating the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act by unlawfully operating its platform in a manner that puts the online safety and privacy of Texas children at risk, Paxton’s office said.
The state is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation in that case, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future violations of the SCOPE Act by TikTok, according to Paxton’s office.
Texas isn’t the only one looking to hold TikTok and other social media giants accountable for allegedly harming children.
Last month, TikTok settled three separate lawsuits alleging it intentionally designed its platform to be addictive, damaging minors’ mental health. The company also agreed to a $400 million settlement with the Department of Justice in a lawsuit accusing TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, of violating federal children’s privacy law.
What happens next
The Texas case will now head to trial, which is expected to be scheduled for next month. The court is expected to assess civil penalties, calculate statutory damages, and impose permanent injunctive relief, according to The National Law Review.
Should TikTok be found guilty of the state’s allegations, Paxton is seeking fines of up to $10,000 per “instance” of the company’s violation of state law.
TikTok has not yet announced whether it will appeal Liu’s decision.
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