Indiana judge dismisses state’s lawsuit against TikTok that alleged child safety, privacy concerns

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the state that accused TikTok of misleading its users about the level of inappropriate content for children on its platform and the security of its consumers’ personal information.

A pair of lawsuits filed in December 2022 accused the app of misleading its viewers – especially children – claiming the app contains “lascivious and inappropriate content” despite the company claiming it is safe for children aged 13 years and younger. In the second complaint, the state alleged that the app misleads consumers into believing that their sensitive and personal information is safe. The lawsuits have since been consolidated. The final hearing on the dismissal request took place in October.

Judge Jennifer L. DeGroote of the Allen County Superior Court in Fort Wayne made the ruling.

The dismissal is an apparent national first, as similar lawsuits are pending in Arkansas and Utah.

It was not immediately clear whether Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office, which filed the lawsuits, would appeal the ruling.

There were earlier signs of skepticism among courts about the Republican attorney general’s arguments.

In May, an Indiana judge ruled that downloading the free app does not amount to a consumer transaction under state law, dealing a blow to Rokita, which has portrayed itself as an enemy of social media giants including Meta.

Allen County Superior Court Judge Craig Bobay also ruled at the time that state courts have no authority over TikTok’s statements to Apple’s app store since both companies are based in California. He added that no aspect of the “age rating process” takes place in Indiana.

A federal judge later denied TikTok’s request to move the lawsuit to federal court, but also described the attorney general’s lawsuit as largely “political posturing” in a ruling.