The State of Iowa has just sued TikTok for misleading age rating tags that could expose children to "inappropriate content."
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed the lawsuit, accusing TikTok and its parent company ByteDance of consumer fraud for an age rating of 12 on the Apple App Store.
Bird, a Republican, said the label is misrepresentative due to the platform's "frequent and intense" exposure of "graphic content" to young children.
The attorney general cited concerns about mature and sexual content on the platform, including "self-harm, illegal drug use, and worse."
Iowa is seeking financial penalties and for TikTok to correct its age appropriateness rating.
TikTok, on the other hand, is confident that it has "industry-leading safeguards in place for young people."
Also Read: TikTok is Allegedly Allowing Users Under 13 to Stay on the Platform
US Lawmakers Probe into TikTok's Access to Underage Users
Iowa was not the only state in the US that has filed a lawsuit against the video-sharing platform on similar grounds.
Utah, Arkansas, and Indiana have sued TikTok over the same issue. So far, only Indiana's lawsuit has been junked, while other states are still investigating.
The lawsuit comes in as TikTok is set to face the US Congress over online child safety policies on the platform by the end of January.
The hearing will be part of the US government's latest move to regulate prominent social media amid controversies of the platforms ignoring its underage users despite the danger.
US Regulations Mount Pressure on Chinese-Based TikTok
The pressure is double for TikTok and CEO Shou Zi Chew as tensions between the US and China continue to elevate.
ByteDance, a Chinese-based company, has been accused several times of collecting user data for the Chinese government.
Government officials have already been banned from accessing the app from state-owned devices.
In some parts of the country, like Montana, laws are being pushed to fully ban access to the app due to the aforementioned concerns.
As of writing, similar legislatures have been suspended on the grounds of violating the "Constitution in more ways than one."
Related Article: Texas Judge Upholds TikTok Ban on State-Owned Devices
