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Texas judge rules TikTok misled users on child safety features

Texas judge rules TikTok misled users on child safety features

Rule Changes

First state to hold TikTok liable for deceptive child safety claims

4 days ago: Judge finds TikTok liable for deceptive practices

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

A Texas judge ruled that TikTok violated state consumer protection law by misleading parents about how it protects minors from inappropriate content. The September 10 ruling is the first time a state has established TikTok's liability for its child safety claims.

Judge Cory Liu found TikTok broke the law in two ways. It kept rule-breaking videos on the platform under a "hard to find" label instead of removing them, and its Restricted Mode feature exposed minors to content it promised to block. A trial next month will determine penalties and remedies.

Why it matters

TikTok faces court-ordered changes to how it filters content for minors in Texas, and other states may follow the precedent.

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Key Indicators

2
Deceptive practices found
Judge Liu found TikTok violated Texas consumer law in two ways
20 months
Lawsuit to ruling
Time from Texas's January 2025 lawsuit to the September 2026 ruling

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

January 2025 September 2026

2 events Latest: 4 days ago

Scenarios

1

TikTok ordered to pay damages, faces Texas injunction

Likely Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: Texas Attorney General's office, legal observers

The trial next month will determine civil penalties, statutory damages, and whether to issue a permanent injunction forcing changes to how TikTok operates in Texas. Texas has asked for remedies that would restrict how the app serves content to minors.

2

TikTok settles after liability finding

Possible Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: The Next Web, Reuters

TikTok could settle to avoid larger penalties and a binding injunction. A settlement now would be on top of the liability finding, not instead of one, which would be a departure from TikTok's usual pattern of settling without admission.

3

Appeals court overturns or narrows the ruling

Uncertain Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: TikTok legal filings, MLex

TikTok has argued the SCOPE Act is unconstitutional and that federal children's privacy rules preempt state law. An appeal is widely expected, and an appellate court could reverse or narrow the liability finding.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2024-2025

Meta's $16.68B state settlement (2024-2025)

Meta agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to settle claims from 29 states that Instagram and Facebook harmed young users. It was the largest settlement of its kind.

Then

Meta paid without admitting wrongdoing.

Now

The settlement left the question of liability unanswered.

Why this matters now

Shows the typical pattern this ruling breaks from: most child safety cases end in settlements without admission of liability.

2024

TikTok's $400M DOJ privacy settlement (2024)

TikTok paid $400 million to the Justice Department to settle allegations it violated children's privacy under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Then

TikTok paid the penalty without admitting liability.

Now

The case did not establish a finding of wrongdoing.

Why this matters now

Shows TikTok's pattern of settling, making the Texas liability finding a departure.

Sources

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