Florida sues TikTok, claiming it violates state child safety law

Florida’s attorney general sued TikTok on Monday over claims it is violating the state’s law barring social media platforms from allowing children under age 14 to create accounts.

In the lawsuit, filed in state court in St. Lucie County, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, accuses TikTok of violating the law by allowing underage users to access the platform and misrepresenting the amount of violent or sexual content young users can be exposed to.

“TikTok knowingly deceives parents and allows children to be exposed to harmful and inappropriate content in direct violation of Florida law,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “We have zero tolerance for companies that prioritize profit over children’s safety.”

The lawsuit seeks a court order directing the platform, which is owned by ByteDance, to make changes to bring it into compliance with the law, as well as financial damages, according to the filing. 

A spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement that the company has been engaging with the attorney general and has informed users under 14 in Florida that their accounts will be suspended. The company is continuing to update its platform in Florida in response to state law, the spokesperson said.

“We are evaluating the state’s complaint and are prepared to defend our strong record on minor safety,” the spokesperson added.

TikTok is facing lawsuits from more than 25 state attorneys general across the country over claims it is designed to be addictive to young users, leading to a mental health crisis among children and teens. Most of the lawsuits have been brought under state consumer protection laws.

TikTok, Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, and other social media companies are facing thousands of lawsuits brought by individuals and school districts over their impact on young users. The companies have denied the allegations and say they take extensive steps to keep teens and young users safe on their platforms.

In the first trial, in a case brought by a young woman who said she suffered from depression and anxiety after becoming addicted to the platforms at a young age, a jury in Los Angeles found Meta and Alphabet’s Google negligent. 

TikTok, which was also a defendant, settled with the woman before trial. The company also settled another case before trial, brought by a Kentucky school district, agreeing to pay $8 million.

The law cited in Florida’s lawsuit, known as H.B. 3, requires social media platforms to bar users under the age of 14 and requires users under 16 to get parental consent before opening an account. It took effect in January 2025.

In 2025, Florida sued Snap, the owner of Snapchat, accusing it of illegally employing features that addict children and opening accounts for children aged 13 and younger. 

Florida called Snap’s conduct “particularly egregious” because the Santa Monica, California-based company markets Snapchat as safe for 13-year-olds, even though it can be used to view pornography and buy drugs, among other harmful activities. 

The case against Snap, which said the law infringes on children’s rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is ongoing, court records show.

A Florida federal judge later blocked enforcement of the law, saying it was unconstitutional. That ruling has been temporarily halted, allowing Florida to enforce it while it fights the judge’s ruling in an appeals court.

Britain announces sweeping social media ban for under-16s

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he would ban social media sites for under-16s and impose restrictions on gaming and live-streaming platforms, in a fightback against big tech that goes further than any other country.

The sweeping changes will “give kids their childhood back”, Starmer told reporters, outlining measures against Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and other platforms, as well as gaming sites that allow strangers to contact children.

“It is clear to me a full ban is the right choice,” he said.

“It will make a huge difference, it will make our children safer, it will make our children happier, it will give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity”.

However, some experts doubted whether a blanket ban would be effective, and Starmer acknowledged it would be difficult to fully enforce such restrictions.

Britain will go further than Australia - the first country to ban social media for children - with controls on gaming platforms and the possibility of overnight curfews and curbs on infinite scrolling for under-18s.

YouTube, Facebook and X will be covered, the government said, but messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal will not be. 

“’World-leading blocks’ on livestreaming and strangers contacting children would also be imposed,” Starmer said.

“Is there a situation in the offline world where you would just let your child pair up with a stranger, an adult that you don’t know anything about?” he said. 

Services designed for children and education, such as YouTube Kids, Lego Play and Google Classroom, will not be affected by the ban, he said. 

While a majority of parents and politicians back a ban, some psychologists and researchers have said there is no proof that it would work, and a group of school children in London told Reuters they had a conflicted relationship with the technology.

Social media companies have already put in place child safety measures, such as new algorithms, in response to tightening regulations, including by Britain. 

They said on Monday that a blanket ban could push young people onto riskier platforms that did not offer the protections they had introduced. 

A ban could be in place next spring, Starmer said, underpinned by existing powers and new regulations due by the end of the year.

Britain has increasingly toughened its approach to tech firms, urging or forcing them to adapt their algorithms and, most recently, prevent children from circulating nude images taken on mobile phones.

The ban will likely require age checks to be expanded to all users, something regulator Ofcom has already introduced for porn sites. Ofcom said it was ready to work on that.

A raft of other countries have also said they are looking to regulate access to social media amid mounting concerns over the impact on children’s health and safety.

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 2:10 PM.