Texas judge finds TikTok misled users about child-safety filtering and Restricted Mode

In a decision issued Thursday, a Texas judge held that TikTok breached the state’s consumer-protection statutes by providing false assurances about its child-safety mechanisms. According to the ruling, the company told users it would delete content that violated its Community Guidelines, yet it internally classified some of that material as merely “hard to find,” keeping it accessible. The judge further found that the app’s Restricted Mode did not operate as advertised, exposing minors to material the company claimed would be filtered out.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced that the matter will proceed to trial, with a hearing expected to be scheduled next month and potential penalties to be determined. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The case follows earlier settlements by TikTok and Meta over U.S. lawsuits alleging platform addiction and mental-health harms.