TikTok
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa’s lawsuit against TikTok over inappropriate content allegedly
made available to children will be heard in a state court.
The state Supreme Court on Jan. 23 rejected the social-media company’s argument that Iowa courts lack jurisdiction over it. The ruling came two months after Nevada’s highest court reached the same decision in that state’s lawsuit over personal data sold to advertisers.
TikTok has objected to the various lawsuits filed against it by state and local officials on jurisdictional grounds. It argued in the Iowa case that it doesn’t have sufficient contacts with the state to consent to being sued there.
“Intentionally conducting business within a state comes with both the benefit of the protection of the state’s laws and the burden of being haled into court to answer for misconduct related to its operations there,” Justice Matthew McDermott wrote.
“It is no defense to jurisdiction that the business operates in many other states too.”
Attorney General Brenna Bird’s lawsuit says TikTok lied to parents and children about inappropriate videos. She hired the firm Cooper & Kirk on a contingency fee to pursue the case.
TikTok violated the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, the suit says, thanks to a “12+” age rating on app stores. Children are able to view material with profanity, sexual content, self-harm and drugs, the suit says.
She called last week’s ruling a “crucial victory.”
“Parents need the tools to protect their children and age ratings are an important tool for parents,” she said.
The lawsuit said those registered as 13 years old could easily find inappropriate content. The state Supreme Court, echoing Nevada’s, said that when a digital platform’s business model relies on maximizing user engagement within a state, consumer protection allegations relate to the company’s presence in that state.
It also rejected the idea that TikTok defending itself in Iowa would be a burden.
“(W)e find that concern outweighed by the fact that they are multinational corporations who have reached into Iowa and allegedly made misrepresentations about an app that was made available, downloaded, and used in Iowa by thousands of Iowa teens in exchange for their personal information,” McDermott wrote.
