Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a lawsuit against social media platform TikTok for allegedly “deceiving parents about the platform’s safety and putting kids at risk with its addictive design.” “We repeatedly warned social media companies that the time to implement the protections required under HB3 was coming to an end. Well, time’s up,” Uthmeier said. We are suing TikTok for deceiving parents about the platform’s safety and putting kids at risk with its addictive design. We repeatedly warned social media companies that the time to implement the protections required under HB3 was coming to an end. Well, time’s up.… pic.twitter.com/VEew7UWzRo — Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) June 15, 2026 POLITICO shared further: The civil lawsuit, filed in St. Lucie County circuit court, is the latest major pushback from Florida against Big Tech, which has become a prominent foil for state GOP leaders over the growing use of social media and artificial intelligence. Florida’s social media restrictions were initially blocked in federal court amid pressure from tech companies that argued the law was a free speech violation, but the state was cleared in November to start enforcing the law for the first time. State Attorney General James Uthmeier, who brought the lawsuit, said TikTok is liable to pay “potentially billions in damages” for allegedly deceiving parents and exposing children to harmful content on its app. And he warned this could only be the start for social media companies that may be skirting Florida’s law prohibiting children younger than 14 from using many platforms while requiring parental approval for 14- and 15-year-olds. “Time is up for TikTok,” Uthmeier said during an event Monday. “TikTok happens to be one of the most egregious social media applications when it comes to the dangers that are there at the fingertips of kids.” By design, the state’s restrictions don’t name any social media applications, instead targeting “addictive features” like infinite scrolling and platforms on which 10 percent or more of users are under 16 years old and spend more than two hours on average engaged. “TikTok’s success hinges on its ability to addict children and teenagers to the platform,” Uthmeier said. “TikTok knowingly deceives parents and allows children to be exposed to harmful and inappropriate content in direct violation of Florida law. We have zero tolerance for companies that prioritize profit over children’s safety. TikTok should expect to be held accountable,” he added. “The State of Florida stands with families in protecting our children from the abuses of addictive social media apps,” said state Rep. Chip LaMarca. “Thank you to the AG for pursuing the fight against these bad actors,” he added. Watch Uthmeier announce the lawsuit below: AG James Uthmeier Launches Lawsuit Against TikTok for Deceiving Parents about the Safety of its Platform and Failure to Comply with Florida's Under 16 Law https://t.co/uzge5HiXXf — Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) June 15, 2026 More from Uthmeier’s office: The complaint alleges that TikTok is in violation of House Bill 3, Florida’s online child protections law, which took effect on January 1, 2025. Specifically, TikTok is accused of letting children under 14 years old create accounts, and letting 15- and 16-year-olds do the same without parental consent. Both violate H.B. 3, which bans children under 14 years of age from social media platforms entirely and requires parental consent for 15 and 16-year-olds to create accounts. The lawsuit also alleges that TikTok is violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by deceiving parents about the safety and appropriateness of the content their children will have access to. TikTok advertises itself on the app store as being appropriate for children 13 years and older, and characterizes mature themes including sex content, drug content, profanity, self-harm/suicide, and eating disorders as “mild” and “infrequent” – a claim that is blatantly false. These themes are present very frequently on the app, and are often shown/discussed in graphic detail. Beyond TikTok’s failures to protect children, it also deliberately targets children as its intended users. TikTok’s business model is built to prey upon addictive behaviors, which children and teenagers are particularly vulnerable to experiencing. Attorney General Uthmeier further alleges that TikTok has internally been aware of the dangers to children for years and has knowingly ignored them.