Florida accuses TikTok of violating child safety law

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R)  has launched legal action against TikTok to enforce the state’s 2024 legislation that restricts social media access for minors. According to Uthmeier, “Time is up for TikTok.”

Politico reports that the civil lawsuit was filed Monday in St. Lucie County circuit court marks another significant confrontation between Florida and major technology companies. The legal action comes as Florida attempts to implement its 2024 law designed to limit how children interact with social media platforms.

The lawsuit represents the latest escalation in Florida’s ongoing battle with Big Tech, which has emerged as a key target for state Republican leadership concerned about the expanding influence of social media and AI. The state’s social media restrictions faced initial legal obstacles when they were blocked in federal court following challenges from technology companies that contended the law violated free speech protections. However, Florida received authorization in November to begin enforcing the law for the first time.

According to Uthmeier, TikTok could potentially face liability amounting to billions in damages for allegedly misleading parents and allowing children to access harmful content through its application. The attorney general cautioned that this lawsuit might be just the beginning for social media companies that could be circumventing Florida’s regulations, which prohibit children under 14 from using many platforms and require parental consent for users aged 14 and 15.

“Time is up for TikTok,” Uthmeier said during an event Monday. “TikTok happens to be one of the most egregious social media applications when it comes to the dangers that are there at the fingertips of kids.”

The state’s restrictions are structured to avoid naming specific social media applications. Instead, the law targets what it defines as addictive features, including infinite scrolling, and applies to platforms where at least 10 percent of users are under 16 years old and spend an average of more than two hours engaged with the platform.

Uthmeier indicated that some companies, including Meta, have achieved compliance with Florida’s law by deleting hundreds of thousands of accounts belonging to children. However, the lawsuit claims that TikTok continues to provide children access to harmful material, including pornographic content and videos depicting self-harm, while utilizing addictive design elements such as unlimited scrolling and push notifications.

In response to the lawsuit, a TikTok spokesperson defended the company’s safety and privacy measures for teenagers, stating that TikTok would defend its strong record on minor safety against Florida’s allegations. The company released a statement noting that it has been engaging constructively and in good faith with the attorney general and has notified users under 14 in Florida that their accounts will be suspended. TikTok officials added that the company continues to update its platform in Florida to address state law requirements.

Uthmeier revealed that Florida has deployed undercover agents to monitor TikTok content, and his office believes some children are using the application for up to eight hours daily despite the state’s stringent regulations. “We are going to get our kids their lives back,” Uthmeier said.

Since his appointment by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2025, Uthmeier has aggressively pursued legal action against various technology companies on behalf of the state. His targets have included OpenAI and the popular children’s gaming platform Roblox over child safety issues. Uthmeier is currently pursuing a similar lawsuit against Snapchat, which Florida sued in 2025 before an appeals court ruled that the state could enforce its social media restrictions.

Read more at Politico here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.