Florida is suing TikTok. Why, and how the company reacted

This article is a confusing mess. A few paragraphs in order,

In 2024, Florida passed a law to ban social media for minors under 14, require children 14 and 15 years of age to get parental consent for accounts, and force websites with adult content to require third-party age verification, among other restrictions

Ok, so presumably they’re being sued for have under-14s and whatever the Florida AG thinks is “adult content” on their site?

Last year, the state filed lawsuits against sites like Snapchat and Roblox for allegedly allowing children to be endangered by sexual predators. In recent months, Uthmeier’s office has also sued OpenAI for alleged violence and harm he says the company’s ChatGPT app caused Floridians.

“We’ve seen so many cases where predators are using these platforms to target kids,” Uthmeier said. “It’s happening in the privacy, in the dark corner of your child’s bedroom.”

Wait, so is he accusing TikTok of allowing children to be endangered by sexual predators, or is this just thrown in to the story as background context?

TikTok also violates multiple restrictions in Florida’s social media law, Uthmeier said, including restrictions against unlimited scrolling and the use of algorithms.

Oh, so it’s the “among other restrictions” from the first paragraph they’re being sued for? Or it’s all of these things?

In a statement to the USA TODAY Network, the company said, “TikTok is built with safety at its core, with more than 50 preset safety and privacy settings for teens and easy-to-use tools for parents.

“We’ve been engaging constructively and in good faith with the AG and have notified users under 14 in Florida that their accounts will be suspended. We’re continuing to update our platform in Florida in response to state law. We are evaluating the state’s complaint and are prepared to defend our strong record on minor safety.”

OK, so I think they’re being sued because they haven’t banned users under 14 yet, but fucks sake this article doesn’t explain crap, it just copy-pastes a bunch of press releases that are talking past each other

The company says its TikTok app was built ‘with safety at its core.’

Ignoring the Florida part, I don’t believe this statement ant all lol.