Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Monday against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, accusing the social media giant of violating Florida's law restricting minors' access to addictive social media platforms and misleading parents about the content children see on the app.
The 66-page complaint, filed in St. Lucie County Circuit Court, alleges TikTok knowingly allows children under 13 to use the platform without parental consent and continues to market the app as safe for young teens despite exposing users to sexual content, drugs, profanity, self-harm messages and other mature material.
The lawsuit was brought under Florida's Online Protections for Minors Act, also known as HB 3, which took effect in 2025. The law bars certain addictive social media platforms from allowing children 13 and younger to hold accounts and requires parental consent for users ages 14 and 15.
The state argues TikTok is "openly defying" the law.
"TikTok has built one of the world's most popular social media platforms on the back of deception about the content on its platform, the mental health problems it causes in young people, and open defiance of Florida law," the complaint states.
The attorney general's office also accuses TikTok of violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by falsely representing that mature content on the app is only "infrequent" or "mild."
The lawsuit points to TikTok's descriptions in the Apple App Store, where the app is currently rated 13+. According to the filing, TikTok tells consumers the app contains only:
- "Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content and Nudity"
- "Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humour"
- "Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes"
The state argues that those descriptions are false and that explicit or harmful content is "frequently and easily accessible" to Florida tweens and teens using the platform.
Florida's HB 3 was one of the most restrictive social media laws passed in the country. Supporters said the measure was necessary to address rising concerns about teen mental health, compulsive social media use and online safety. The law specifically targets platforms with features designed to encourage addictive behavior, such as endless scrolling, push notifications and algorithm-driven content feeds.
The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring TikTok to comply with Florida law, declaratory and injunctive relief, civil penalties and other statutory remedies under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The complaint does not specify an exact dollar amount for penalties, but Florida law allows significant fines for deceptive trade practices.
As of Monday afternoon, TikTok had not filed a response to the lawsuit. The company has previously argued in other legal challenges that age restrictions and social media bans raise constitutional concerns, including free speech issues.
The case is expected to become a major test of Florida's new social media law and could draw national attention as states continue debating how far governments can go in regulating minors' access to social platforms.
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