TikTok is at the receiving end of a lawsuit from Indiana, as they accuse the platform of security risks and having mature content accessible to all ages. The state's Attorney General claims that TikTok broke consumer law because it didn't warn users that, theoretically, sensitive data can be acquired.
There's also the issue of the app being labeled with a low age rating of 12+, which poses a threat to children being exposed to content they shouldn't be seeing.
Violations of the App
On top of the other issues concerning the app, Indiana accused it of allegedly having sensitive data accessible by the Chinese government. TikTok has also been called out for its age rating, making it easy for children to view mature content relating to drugs or sex.
The state demands that the app pays a fine of around $5,000 for every violation, as mentioned in Engadget. The lawsuit is also urging the app to refrain from marketing its services as appropriate for ages 12 and above.
The attorney general's office expressed that the app was a wolf in sheep's clothing. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter claimed that the safety, privacy, and security of the app's community is their top priority.
She also expressed that they build the well-being of youth into their policies, limit the features by age, and assist parents using tools and resources. The app is also said to invest in various ways to enjoy content with age appropriateness and family comfort in mind. As for data security, they continue to deny sending user data to the Chinese government.
Other apps have the same age rating as TikTok, like Facebook and Instagram. Yet, the two latter apps also have mature content that can easily be seen by underaged audiences. However, the lawsuit could urge the app to change certain policies like age restriction or be more transparent about handling sensitive user information.
The attorney general from Indiana remains skeptical even as TikTok reassures that no data has been given to the Chinese government. She mentioned that Chinese law gives its government the power to demand data access from a US affiliate, according to New York Times.
TikTok's Defense
The app's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, claimed that data was safe, considering that Oracle, an American cloud computing company, actually controls the servers where US users are hosted. Oberwetter stated that they were confident about being on a path that satisfies reasonable US national security concerns and have already made progress with implementing the solutions.
The tools mentioned that would assist parents allow them to link their own accounts to their children's, which gives them control over the content that their child would see as well as their screen time. Although, reports say that even in restricted mode, mature content still manages to slip through the cracks.
