Utah has taken legal action against TikTok due to its purported deception of its citizens regarding its relationship to its Chinese parent company and its false promises of a secure platform. Governor Spencer Cox referred to an American Surgeon General's report to support his case, in addition to passing two new laws that aim to safeguard Utah's citizens from the potentially damaging effects of social media. on child safety
Utah has taken legal action against TikTok, alleging the social media site mislead its citizens about its relation to its Chinese parent company and falsely claiming its platform was safe. The lawsuit joins similar ones from Arkansas and Indiana, while Montana has banned the application altogether, a move which has been contested by TikTok and creators. This initiative by the states stands in stark contrast to the stalling of proposed legislation in the US Congress, originally propelled forward by bipartisan support, which could lead to a ban of the app. Utah Governor Spencer Cox cited studies about social media's impact on adolescents - including a US Surgeon General report - when making the public statement, noting that “social media companies must be held responsible for the harms they are causing.” Sean Reyes, Utah's Attorney General, asserts that TikTok breached the state's consumer protection laws in three ways: promoting an "addictive product" with design features to ensnare children; misrepresenting the security of the app; and misleading people concerning the level of its relationship with ByteDance, ByteDance being the China-based company that owns TikTok. TikTok has remained silent regarding the lawsuit. Chinese ownership of the application has been a key issue prompting concerns among government officials, as Chinese law may compel China-based companies to surrender internal information to its government if national security is concerned. Besides this, the case also addresses general issues that many people have regarding social media networks, such as TikTok's swipe-to-load-new-videos feature being likened to a slot machine. Utah has taken a stringent stance against the potential harms of social media - earlier this year, Governor Cox enacted two new laws to restrict kids' access, as well as require age verification; nevertheless, privacy and LGBTQ+ rights advocates have criticized the bills, citing that age verification could cause further intrusions and that parent access to young people's accounts could put children in abusive households in danger.
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