State of Alabama v. TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Inc.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed suit against TikTok Inc. and its parent company ByteDance Inc. in Montgomery County Circuit Court, alleging the platform deliberately addicts children to harmful content while deceiving parents about its safety features. The lawsuit claims TikTok's algorithm is engineered to expose minors to content promoting depression, eating disorders, self-harm, dangerous viral challenges, and drug use. The state seeks civil penalties under Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief to stop the company's misleading practices regarding youth safety.