RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Virginia lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., filed by the Office of the Attorney General, is set to move forward despite dismissal efforts from the platform.
An opinion was issued by Richmond City Circuit Court on Friday, Oct. 24, in which they denied TikTok’s demurrer and motion to dismiss the lawsuit, per a release from Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office.
The court said Miyares’ complaint featured sufficient allegations of several violations by TikTok of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act — also stating that the claims are not prohibited by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the First Amendment or federal preemption.
This decision comes after the suit was filed on Jan. 17, alleging that TikTok was “intentionally designed to be addictive for adolescent users.”
Miyares’ lawsuit also alleged that TikTok and its parent company have deceived parents —regarding its T for Teen rating and the claim that its content is appropriate for children over the age of 12.
The suit also alleges that the app has misled the public when discussing its connection to the Chinese government and the Communist Party, according to the release.
In response to these claims, ByteDance and others associated with the platform have denied that American user data collected by TikTok could be exploited by the Chinese government.
