Alabama Attorney General announces lawsuit against TikTok, ByteDance Inc.
ALABAMA (WHNT) — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Tuesday that the State has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance Inc.
The lawsuit claims the platform is exploiting children, addicting them to harmful content and lying about the safety of its platform.
The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, seeks to hold TikTok accountable for fueling a mental health crisis among Alabama's youth.
'Today, we join concerned parents across our state to stand up for Alabama's children. TikTok preys on young people, feeding them dangerous and damaging content while lying to parents about how safe the app really is. This platform was designed to addict kids and put profits ahead of the mental health of an entire generation,' Attorney General Marshall said. 'TikTok's so-called 'safety features' are a joke. They are nothing more than a marketing ploy to trick parents into trusting a product that TikTok knows full well is dangerous. Alabama families deserve the truth, and we will make sure they get it.'
The lawsuit explains that the app's algorithm is engineered to keep children in a mindless scroll and exposes them to content that promotes 'depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and drug use, as well as dangerous viral 'challenges.''
Attorney General Marshall said the lawsuit says TikTok's safety measures, such as 'Kids Mode' and 'Restricted Mode,' are ineffective and easily bypassed, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation and harm, while TikTok does little to block inappropriate adult material.
'Over one-third of its daily users in the United States are fourteen or younger. TikTok's capture of the American youth market is no accident but is instead the result of a carefully executed campaign,' Attorney General Marshall said. The release says the lawsuit identifies TikTok as being ultimately owned and operated by ByteDance, a Chinese corporation, which, since the app's inception, has focused 'on gathering as much data on users as possible.'
The lawsuit seeks civil penalties under Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as compensatory and punitive damages to the State, and injunctive relief to ensure that the company's misleading practices about youth safety are discontinued.
You can read the full complaint filed by the State below:
tiktok-complaintDownload
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Xu Qiliang, former top Chinese general close to Xi, dies in Beijing
BEIJING (AP) — Xu Qiliang, a former air force general who was reportedly close to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, has died at age 75, according to the Defense MInistry. Xu had been a vice commissioner of the body that overseas the People's Liberation Army, the military branch of China's ruling Communist Party, during Xi's first few years in government. China's ultimate leader was at the time incorporating the army and navy into leadership bodies long dominated by the land forces. Xu was an 'excellent Communist Party of China member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian military strategist, and an outstanding leader of the People's Liberation Army,' said a statement issued by the ministry. Xu joined the PLA in 1966 just as China was plunged into the violent decade-long Cultural Revolution under Communist China's founder Mao Zedong. After climbing the ranks, Xu wielded considerable influence as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission without, it appears, falling afoul of China's party anti-corruption forces, who brought down several other high ranking retired and serving military leaders, including two former defense ministers. China has offered no information on the situation involving the pair, stirring rumors of a major shakeup in the ranks concerning corruption or spying for the U.S.. China has not fought a major campaign since the 1950-53 Korean War, so Xu built his career largely on his adherence to the party line and fealty to the leader of the time, who like Xi now, serves as chairman of the Central Military Commission. In a February 2018 report, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xu as calling on the Chinese army to 'thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 19th party National Congress and President Xi Jinping's strategy for strengthening the military.' Xu also helped oversee the PLA's transformation into a modern fighting force, eliminating its Cold War-era jets for stealth fighters and nuclear bombers. Xu also met with foreign delegations, including then-U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis in 2018, with whom he discussed 'the importance of substantive military-to-military contacts to reduce risk and strategic uncertainty.' Relations between the militaries have since nose-dived, along with relations in general. The Associated Press
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Liberal news outlet mocked for reporting on ‘mysterious' drop in fentanyl flowing across border
The Washington Post is being mocked online and by the White House for "pathetic" reporting on what the liberal-leaning news outlet calls a "mysterious" decline in fentanyl flowing across the border. Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that is often trafficked into the United States across the southern and northern borders by cartels and other criminal elements. In 2024, fentanyl was linked to the death of 48,422 persons in the United States, according to the CDC. During his campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to wage a war against fentanyl traffickers through increased border security and by cracking down on illegal immigration. Since taking office, Trump has deployed U.S. troops to the southern border, targeted cartels and transnational criminal groups as "foreign terrorist organizations" and hit cartel leaders with sanctions. According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), the U.S. law enforcement seizures of fentanyl, which the group explains is a "key indicator of broader total smuggling at and between the southern border's ports of entry," have dropped 50% since the November election. CIS states that this significant decline indicates a "greater decline in total fentanyl smuggling." Bondi Announces One Of Largest Fentanyl Seizures In Us History The Washington Post reports on this decline, stating that U.S. seizures at the southern border are down by almost 30 percent compared with the same period in 2024. The outlet, however, states that the drop "represents something of a mystery." Read On The Fox News App "After years of confiscating rising amounts of fentanyl, the opioid that has fueled the most lethal drug epidemic in American history, U.S. officials are confronting a new and puzzling reality at the Mexican border. Fentanyl seizures are plummeting," wrote the Post. Among the possible reasons listed by the outlet are cartels finding other ways to smuggle the drug into the U.S., cartel internal strife, ingredient shortages and a possible decline in demand. Though baffled by the reason for the decline, The Washington Post posited that "public health authorities are concerned that the Trump administration's budget cuts could hurt programs that have promoted overdose antidotes and addiction treatment." Some Fentanyl Dealers Would Be Charged With Felony Murder Under New Bill The article was widely mocked by conservatives online. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., commented on X, "The Washington Post is reporting a 'mysterious drop' in fentanyl seizures at the southern border. Mystery solved! The Trump effect is working." Charlie Kirk, a popular conservative influencer, also commented, saying: "Four months into the Trump administration, The Washington Post is marveling at the 'mysterious' drop in fentanyl seizures on the Mexican border … Is the Post simply lying, or are their reporters as dumb as the people they're writing propaganda for?" Click Here For More Immigration Coverage The Department of Homeland Security's official X account also replied, commenting: "It's no mystery. On day one, [President] Trump closed our borders to drug traffickers." DHS said that "from March 2024 to March 2025 fentanyl traffic at the southern border fell by 54%." "The world has heard the message loud and clear," said DHS. Whistleblower Accuses Biden Admin Of Leaving Thousands Of Migrant Child Trafficking Reports Uninvestigated Several top White House spokespersons also weighed in. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt simply called the Post "pathetic," and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said: "They can't stand that President Trump's strong border policies have led to a DECREASE in fentanyl coming into the U.S." Abigail Jackson, another White House spokeswoman, told Fox News Digital that "the drop in fentanyl seizures at the border is only a mystery to Washington Post reporters suffering from Trump-Derangement Syndrome." "As of March, fentanyl traffic at the Southern Border had fallen by more than half from the same time last year – while Joe Biden's open border was still terrorizing America," said Jackson. "Everyone else knows the simple truth: President Trump closed our border to illegal drug traffickers and Americans are safer because of it." The Washington Post did not immediately respond to a request by Fox News Digital for article source: Liberal news outlet mocked for reporting on 'mysterious' drop in fentanyl flowing across border
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hot Springs locals react to human trafficking investigation at massage business
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – AI Massage in Hot Springs is under investigation by the Attorney General's Office for alleged prostitution and human trafficking. People who live and work in Hot Springs, like Hannah and Cole Carey, said they can't believe something like this was happening in their city. 'It's really just shocking to me that it's so close to home,' Hannah Carey said. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announces organized retail crime bust & human trafficking investigation Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said a May 22 raid on AI Massage on Central Avenue stemmed from information gathered during previous investigations into other massage parlors busted for illicit sexual activity. According to Griffin, three Chinese nationals were identified as victims and are now receiving support services. One woman told investigators she responded to an online job ad in China and did not know she would be doing sex work. 'It kind of hits you hard, just makes you feel bad for them, thinking about what else they went through,' Cole Carey said. Griffin said investigators uncovered evidence pointing to sexual activity. 'Illicit sexual activity, prostitution going on in these massage parlors. We not only talked to the victims to confirm it, there were about 100 condoms there, which normally would not be at a spa,' Griffin said, 'There was what we believe to be a home remedy used to treat sexually transmitted infections, also implying that sexual activity is going on.' Authorities also recovered $22,000 in American cash along with some foreign currency. Griffin said no arrests have been made yet because the individuals believed to be running the operation were not there during the raid. However, he said law enforcement is following every lead. 'I'm grateful to law enforcement who have been on top of this and trying to get to the bottom of it,' said Tina Haney, another Hot Springs local. 'It's disappointing to have this going on right under our noses and not even realize it.' Arkansas Attorney General announces grant to combat human trafficking in Arkansas The massage parlor under investigation is open today. KARK 4 News went there to ask for a comment, but the people there said their boss wasn't there and declined to comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
