Arkansas sues Meta, TikTok over ‘addictive’ effect on children
Brady Knox
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Arkansas is suing Meta and TikTok over their apps’ “addictive” effects on children.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s (R-AR) office told Fox News that the state has filed three lawsuits against the tech giants under its Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which forbids deceptive business practices. One of the lawsuits was filed against Meta, and two others target TikTok’s Chinese host company, ByteDance. The lawsuits accuse the companies of pursuing “growth at all costs” and “rewiring how our children think, feel, and behave,” one staffer said.
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The lawsuits, filed by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, come amid a period of intense scrutiny against social media giants, especially TikTok, over potential national security concerns.
“We have to hold Big Tech companies accountable for pushing addictive platforms on our kids and exposing them to a world of inappropriate, damaging content,” a statement from Sanders obtained by the outlet read.
“Arkansas is leading the charge on filing three lawsuits against TikTok and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram.”
“These actions are a long time coming. We have watched over the past decade as one social media company after another has exploited our kids for profit and escaped government oversight. My administration will not tolerate that failed status quo,” she continued.
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The lawsuit against Meta is focused on its targeting of children, one of the ByteDance lawsuits is related to its exposure of children to mature content, and the other against the Chinese company relates to its connections with the Chinese Communist Party.
Legislation against TikTok gained steam last week following the testimony from the company’s CEO in front of Congress. He was grilled about the app’s possible links to the Chinese government.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Sanders’s office for comment.