Arkansas scored a procedural win in its ongoing lawsuit against TikTok. The lawsuit, filed in Cleburne County last year, alleges TikTok and its parent company, China-based ByteDance, have misled the public about the platform’s safety and addictiveness to minors, violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA). The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports Cleburne County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer denied TikTok’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit Wednesday, allowing the case to proceed. The claim that TikTok is not subject to the ADTPA because it is not a good or service was also rejected by Meyer.
Attorney General Tim Griffin, who hailed it as a “big win” for the state, saying, “This is a big win because it allows us to move forward with the case, where we will show how TikTok has been deceptive when it claims it’s platform is safe for minors.” He further added that each procedural victory brings them closer to holding TikTok accountable for its alleged deceptive practices and sets a precedent for others to follow suit.
State and federal lawmakers have scrutinized the social media app in recent years, with many states banning it from state-owned devices over concerns that China could use it to monitor U.S. residents.
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