(NewsNation) — The state of Utah has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the company deliberately misled young users and parents about its dangers and used “addictive features” to keep users on the app.
“My top priority is protecting our children in Utah. I’m tired of TikTok lying to Utah parents. I’m tired of our kids losing their innocence and even their lives addicted to the dark side of social media,” Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement Tuesday announcing the lawsuit.
Lawmakers across the country and in Washington have been aggressively pushing for restrictions on TikTok over concerns about data privacy, health effects on users and the social media company’s links to the Chinese Communist Party.
After grilling TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew earlier this year, lawmakers made a bipartisan push for legislation to ban the popular social media app. But that ban is now stalled due to legal trouble.
The Utah lawsuit, which brings claims under the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act, claims prolonged use of the app is detrimental to children’s mental health and well-being.
“Social media companies must be held responsible for the harms they are causing,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement. “The experts — from the U.S. Surgeon General and behavioral science researchers to parents and teens — all agree that social media is affecting our children’s mental health and it’s time to intervene.”
Margaret Woolley Busse, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, called the lawsuit the “next step in holding TikTok accountable” for it’s alleged failure to safeguard children.
“However, we will not let up the pressure on TikTok as we continue our investigation,” Busse said in a statement.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges TikTok misled its users about its connection to its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
At a March congressional hearing, Chew said TikTok provides tools to protect youth, including limits on direct messages, limiting time spent on the app for users under 18 and offering family pairing tools to help parents control what their kids are exposed to.
NewsNation digital producer Stephanie Whiteside contributed to this report.