Florida has sued TikTok, accusing the app of violating the state’s law restricting minors’ access to social media and misleading parents about what their children will find there. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the lawsuit on June 15, filing it in St. Lucie County Circuit Court.
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The complaint alleges that TikTok illegally allowed minors to use the platform by misleading them about the nature of the content available to them and using addictive design features aimed at keeping children scrolling.
The lawsuit invokes two laws: House Bill 3, Florida's Social Media for Minors Act, and Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The state is seeking an injunction, civil penalties and other remedies.
The law at the heart of the case is strict. HB 3, which took effect on January 1, 2025, prohibits children under 14 from having social media accounts and requires 15- and 16-year-olds to have parental consent before signing up.
The lawsuit is the first major enforcement action Florida has taken under it, making the case a test of both the law and the company.
This test matters because age-restricting laws have faced legal problems across America, where courts often pit them against First Amendment objections from platforms and free speech groups.
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Florida is now asking a court to apply HB 3 to a specific defendant, and how the case plays out will show how much of the law survives contact with the constitution.
Florida is among the most aggressive states on this front. It recently became the first to sue OpenAI and personally name Sam Altman over ChatGPT’s effects on children, and HB 3 is one of the strictest under-16 social media laws in the country.
The lawsuit against TikTok extends a pattern in which the state has tried to take the lead in enforcing child safety on technology rather than waiting for federal action, which has been slow to arrive.
TikTok is a well-known defendant in this area. The company has faced a wave of child safety actions from states and school districts, some of which were settled before trial, and has generally maintained that it offers age-appropriate parental controls and protections. Its response to the Florida complaint was not detailed in initial coverage.
The company has elsewhere said it provides parental controls, age-appropriate experiences and tools to limit how much time younger users spend on the app, and has disputed the case of several government actions rather than settling them outright.
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The political context was clear enough. “Time is up,” Uthmeier said in announcing the action, casting it as a move to hold the platform accountable to a law that already exists. Whether the courts agree that TikTok violated it, and whether HB 3 will hold up under scrutiny, are the questions the filing now raises.
