Minnesota Sues TikTok, Calling It a “Digital Trap for Children”
Attorney General claims TikTok manipulates children’s brains and profits from addictive features.
When 12-year-old Emma opens TikTok, she thinks she’s just watching funny videos and experimenting with filters. But Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleges that apps like TikTok are deliberately designed to keep children like her engaged for hours—while harvesting data and generating revenue.
On Tuesday, Minnesota became the latest state to sue TikTok, accusing the platform of exploiting children’s developing brains. The 96-page complaint claims the app deliberately manipulates minors using features such as infinite scrolling, personalized content recommendations, push notifications, and playful filters that encourage repeated engagement.
“These features aren’t neutral; they’re designed to trigger habit-forming behaviors in children,” the lawsuit states. “TikTok profits from their attention, their data, and their impulses.”
The lawsuit also targets TikTok LIVE, where users—including minors—can buy virtual coins to send as gifts to live streamers. These coins are converted into real money, with TikTok taking a percentage of the transactions. According to the complaint, the platform earned $1.7 billion from these virtual gifts in a single quarter of 2023. Minnesota alleges that TikTok’s age verification system is easy to bypass, allowing hundreds of thousands of children to access adult content or make unplanned purchases, while content moderation is inconsistent.
TikTok responded by highlighting over 50 teen safety features, including parental controls through its Family Pairing tool, but the lawsuit argues these measures are insufficient against the app’s design, which the complaint calls “sophisticated and intentionally addictive.”
The legal action coincides with heightened national scrutiny. In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), mandating that ByteDance divest TikTok's U.S. operations by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban. However, President Donald Trump, upon taking office in January 2025, issued multiple executive orders extending this deadline. The most recent extension, signed on June 19, 2025, set the new deadline to September 17, 2025.
In response to the looming deadline, ByteDance is reportedly developing a U.S.-specific version of TikTok, internally referred to as "M2." This new app is scheduled for release on September 5, 2025, and aims to address U.S. government concerns over data security. Current TikTok users in the U.S. will be required to download the new app to continue using the service. The original TikTok app will remain operational until March 2026.
As the September 17 deadline approaches, negotiations for the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations continue. While some investors have expressed interest, including Amazon and Oracle, the deal's completion remains uncertain. The outcome will determine whether TikTok can continue operating in the U.S. under its current ownership or if a divestiture is necessary.
Federal litigation is also underway, with parents in California filing consolidated claims over the app’s effects on minors. Together, these lawsuits focus attention on how social media companies profit from children’s attention and spending, while highlighting gaps in safety measures and regulatory oversight.
According to Minnesota’s complaint, TikTok collects detailed personal data—including location, interests, and purchasing habits—while children spend hours on the app. Features such as the recommendation engine, infinite scroll, push notifications, and TikTok LIVE gifts repeatedly draw users back, generating millions in revenue. The outcome of this case could directly affect whether TikTok continues operating in its current form in the United States.
