Surely, they are the smartest species to ever walk the earth, but despite everything, human beings have a pretty dismal record at not making mistakes. This dynamic has already been reinforced quite a few times throughout the history, with each testimony practically forcing us to look for a defensive cover. We will, however, solve our conundrum in the most fitting way possible, and we’ll do so by bringing regulatory bodies into the fold. Having a well-defined authority across every single area was a game-changer, as it instantly concealed our many shortcomings. Now, the kind of utopia you would generally expect from such a development did arrive, but it notably failed to stick around for long. Talk about what led to the stated setback, the answer will literally touch upon technology before it covers anything else. You see, the moment technology got its layered nature to take over the scene, it allowed people an unprecedented chance to exploit others for their own benefit. In case this didn’t sound bad enough, the whole runner soon began to materialize on such a massive scale that it expectantly overwhelmed our governing forces and sent them back to the drawing board. After a lengthy spell in the middle of nowhere, though, it seems like the regulatory contingent is finally ready to make a comeback. The same has turned more and more evident in recent times, and truth be told, a new lawsuit should do a lot to make that trend bigger and better moving forward.
Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed two formal lawsuits against TikTok in relation to the company possibly misleading users about its ties to the Chinese government and showing mature content to minors. According to certain reports, the first lawsuit delved into how the social media giant presented blatant lies in terms of the amount of sexual and drug-related content accessible to young users on its app. The complaint even referred to the TikTok’s 12-plus age rating and “infrequent/mild” designation for content about sex, drugs, alcohol and violence as completely false. Furthermore, Rokita argued that it wasn’t just about the presence of such content, but the problem also talked to the way TikTok’s algorithms would recommend the stated posts without even considering the user’s age.
Coming to the other lawsuit, this one made a rather unsurprising, but still pretty sensational, claim, which stated how everything including people’s interests and their facial features are potentially accessible to the Chinese government, with the fear being that the political entity might use those details “to spy on, blackmail, and coerce” users.
“The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users,” Rokita said in a Wednesday statement. “With this pair of lawsuits, we hope to force TikTok to stop its false, deceptive and misleading practices, which violate Indiana law.”
Indiana’s double lawsuit punch on TikTok comes shortly after governors of Maryland, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas all banned the use of TikTok on government devices. When quizzed regarding the latest complaint, though, TikTok spokesperson, Brooke Oberwetter said:
“While we don’t comment on pending litigation, the safety, privacy and security of our community is our top priority,” Oberwetter said. “We are also confident that we’re on a path in our negotiations with the U.S. Government to fully satisfy all reasonable U.S. national security concerns, and we have already made significant strides toward implementing those solutions.”
Interestingly enough, the lawsuits in focus mark the first time a state has sued TikTok for violating its consumer protection laws.