Texas Establishes Landmark Liability Against TikTok for Misleading Parents
Texas became the first state in the nation to establish liability against TikTok for deceiving parents and exposing minors to harmful material, following a landmark state court decision on September 10, 2026. District Judge Cory Liu ruled that TikTok intentionally misled the public regarding its safety standards, specifically its pledge to remove graphic depictions of drugs, alcohol, nudity, and violence from adolescent feeds. This ruling confirms that social media enterprises face direct legal accountability under state consumer protection statutes when corporate marketing conceals digital hazards from families.
Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated the underlying enforcement action in January, 2025, asserting that TikTok deceptively advertised its platform as safe for youth while routinely delivering explicit content to children. The state also challenged TikTok under the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (“SCOPE”) Act, demonstrating that minors could easily view dangerous videos even after parents enabled the application’s “Restricted Mode” feature. Addressing the liability finding, Paxton declared: “TikTok sacrificed the safety and innocence of children for engagement and numbers, and now they are being held accountable.”
Having established TikTok’s liability as a matter of law, the state will advance its claims directly into the remedies phase. Paxton will present evidence at a trial scheduled for next month, during which the court will assess civil penalties, calculate statutory damages, and impose permanent injunctive relief. This judicial victory signals a decisive shift in state-level enforcement, demonstrating that state attorneys general possess both the statutory mechanisms and the evidentiary footing to penalize technology companies that compromise children’s welfare for commercial gain.
TikTok is sure to appeal this ruling. We will make sure to keep an eye on this event.