TikTok misled consumers about filtering content for minors, judge rules

A Texas judge on Thursday ruled the social media platform TikTok misled consumers about the company’s efforts to filter inappropriate content for minors.

In her ruling , Texas District Judge Cory Liu said TikTok’s claims about its content-moderation policies violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The state of Texas alleged TikTok did not remove certain categories of videos, including sexually suggestive or graphic content or promotions of gambling or drugs, that violated the platform’s community guidelines.

The internal content-moderation policies, according to the state, “instructed that such content should be allowed to remain on the platform with the designation of ‘hard to find’ rather than ‘do not allow,'” court filings show.

The state also argued TikTok misled users when claiming its “Restricted Mode” effectively filtered out content potentially inappropriate for minors.

Prosecutors alleged TikTok employees internally acknowledged the restricted mode did not work as intended and “exposed users to a high amount of content that should have been filtered out,” the filing stated.

Liu ruled the state met the burden for summary judgment on both allegations, allowing the trial to move forward. The trial, which is expected to be set for next month, would mark the first full trial on safety claims for TikTok if a settlement is not reached beforehand.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) celebrated Liu’s ruling Thursday, writing TikTok “sacrificed the safety and innocence of children for engagement and numbers, and now they are being held accountable.”

TikTok did not respond to request for comment.

TikTok is among a handful of social media companies to face increasing pressure over its ability to protect children online.

The trial will follow two landmark verdicts earlier this year that found the social media giant Meta liable for its platforms’ impact on kids and teen mental and physical health.

Last month, Meta settled a similar case with nearly every state in the U.S., agreeing to pay more than $17 billion and roll out several platform changes. Texas was not part of this settlement, but revealed hours later it reached a separate agreement with Meta, bringing the company’s total sum to just over $18 billion.

In announcing the settlement, Meta specifically called out YouTube and TikTok to “join” the company in adopting what it calls a “new standard” for kids online safety.

In an open letter , Meta argued the benefits of its new standards will only be “truly effective” if other industry players follow the same standard, putting public pressure on its rivals to make a deal.

TikTok has largely stayed quiet, providing no public response to the letter.