TikTok faces setback in US; faces 2 lawsuits on children's safety
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Washington: The celebrated short video social media platform TikTok was named in two lawsuits from the United States, accusing it of making false claims on children's safety, Agence France-Presse reported.
The lawsuits were moved from the state of Indiana.
The case comes at a time when the app faces several accusations that it is a threat to national security and is spying for China.
Attorney General (AG) Todd Rokita said in a statement that TikTok is a malicious and menacing threat to Indiana consumers. The Chinese app is well aware of the harm it could inflict on users, the AG said.
According to the lawsuit, TikTok serves a vast amount of content featuring alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, nudity and suggestive themes. These contents are available for users as young as 13, it said.
The second lawsuit sued the platform, alleging that it deceived customers by convincing them that sensitive data and personal information were protected from the Chinese government.
The company, however, said in a statement that the safety. The privacy and security of its customers are its top priority. It builds youth well-being into their policies, limit features by age and aid parents with tools and resources. It keeps investing in novel ways to enjoy content based on age appropriateness or family comfort.
There is growing disapproval against TikTok in the United States as many states, as well as the US military, banned its usage on government devices. On Wednesday, Texas became the latest in the list of states taking "aggressive action" against the app.
The app is heavily popular, but it gets often singled out for alleged ties with the Chinese administration, and there are concerns that China will use the app to track and coerce users around the world.
At the moment, the app is in negotiations with the US government to resolve national security concerns and hopes to keep its operations in the country, one of its largest markets. It said that it is confident that it could mitigate all the national security concerns of the US.
The spectacular success of TikTok has seen rival sites such as Meta-owned Instagram or Snapchat struggle to keep up, with once soaring ad revenues taking a hit.
TikTok's massive success is envied as rivals Instagram and Snapchat battle to keep their grip on their market shares. Also, TikTok's ad revenues were soaring.