Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued TikTok on Thursday for sharing and selling minors’ personal information, violating a new state law that seeks to protect children who are active on social media, accusations that the company denied hours later.
The Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act prohibits social media companies from sharing or selling a minor’s personal information unless a parent or guardian approves.
The law, which was passed by the Legislature last year and partially went into effect Sept. 1, also requires companies to create tools that let verified parents supervise their minor child’s account.
Paxton argues in the legal filing that TikTok, a short-form video app, has failed to comply with these requirements. Although TikTok has a “family pairing” feature that allows parents to link their account to their teen’s account and set controls, parents don’t have to verify their identity using a “commercially reasonable method,” as required by Texas law.
The minor also has to consent to the pairing.
Paxton also argues that TikTok unlawfully shares and sells minors’ personal identifying information to third parties, including advertisers and search engines, and illegally displays targeted advertising to known minors.
Read the full story from the Associated Press