In a year marked by mounting legal and political battles over the future of TikTok in the United States, Minnesota has become the latest state to take the Chinese-owned social media giant to court, joining a swelling coalition of states and the District of Columbia. On August 19, 2025, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a civil lawsuit against TikTok, alleging that the platform exploits children by fostering a "habitual dependence"—a claim that echoes and amplifies growing national anxieties about both the mental health of young users and the security of American data.
The lawsuit, as reported by USA TODAY, draws a vivid comparison between TikTok and slot machines, arguing that the app’s algorithm is designed to be addictive and may result in anxiety, depression, and developmental harm for children aged 13 to 17. The complaint cites a 2023 University of Minnesota study, which describes TikTok's algorithm as "a runaway train, a technological system that users cannot control but feel that they cannot leave or disengage from." According to the complaint, this compulsive engagement can disrupt sleep, physical activity, and even lead to "structural changes to the developing brain," specifically in regions responsible for emotional learning and regulation.
These concerns are not merely speculative. The lawsuit points to staggering usage statistics: nearly 70 million American TikTok users are between 13 and 17 years old, with almost 30 million spending at least two hours per day on the platform, and about 17 million logging three or more hours. Ellison’s complaint contends that such excessive use can isolate young people from their peers and erode self-confidence, as they compare themselves to the often-glossy lives presented on the app.
But the allegations go further, delving into the darker corners of TikTok's features. The complaint singles out TikTok LIVE, a livestreaming function, as a vector for both financial and sexual exploitation. Although TikTok restricts monetization to adults, Ellison asserts that "lax and ineffective" age controls have allowed minors to bypass restrictions and participate in "transactional gifting" involving nudity and sexual activity. The complaint alleges, "TikTok profited significantly from 'transactional gifting' involving nudity and sexual activity, all facilitated by TikTok’s virtual currency system."
TikTok, for its part, has pushed back vigorously against these claims. In a statement shared with USA TODAY, the company called the lawsuit "misleading and inaccurate," emphasizing its suite of safety features for teens. "Teen accounts on TikTok come with 50-plus features and settings designed to help young people safely express themselves, discover and learn," the statement read. "Through our Family Pairing tool, parents can view or customize 20+ content and privacy settings, including screen time, content filters, and our time away feature to pause a teen’s access to our app."
Minnesota’s lawsuit is just the latest salvo in a broader legal offensive. Over the past year, thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have filed similar complaints, coordinated in part by New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. States from Illinois to Oregon have joined the effort, all citing mounting evidence that TikTok’s design and business practices are detrimental to the mental health of children. TikTok has sought to dismiss many of these cases, but courts in several states—including New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, and Illinois—have allowed the lawsuits to proceed.
This legal storm is unfolding against the backdrop of a high-stakes national debate over TikTok’s very existence in the United States. The platform’s future has been thrown into doubt by federal legislation signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2024, which aimed to ban TikTok unless its U.S. assets were sold by its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance. The law, passed as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2025. It gave the president authority to grant a single 90-day extension if a sale was in progress, but required ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban.
Yet, enforcement of the ban has been anything but straightforward. President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January 2025, has delayed the ban three times, most recently setting a new deadline for September 17, 2025. In a move that raised eyebrows across the political spectrum, the White House launched its first official TikTok account in early August, amassing nearly 150,000 followers in less than 24 hours. The inaugural post featured Trump himself, declaring "I am your voice" in a 27-second video montage of public appearances, accompanied by the caption, "America we are BACK! What’s up TikTok?"
Trump credits TikTok with helping him win the popular vote in the 2024 presidential election, especially among young people. His administration’s embrace of the platform, even as it faces legal peril, has sparked concern among national security experts and lawmakers. Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told WORLD, "The one problem we had was the bad things the Chinese Communist Party was doing with TikTok. Now we have a second problem, which is complete disregard for the rule of law."
Security concerns center on ByteDance’s headquarters in Beijing and Chinese laws that require companies to share data with the Chinese Communist Party. Former Senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio has long warned of the risks, telling CBS, "Its value is it has an algorithm, a recommender engine which is one of the best in the world. … As long as ByteDance engineers in China control the algorithm, they have to have access to American data to make it work, and that’s what we need to confront." Rubio and others have also pointed to TikTok’s role in spreading foreign propaganda and misinformation, citing its handling of content related to the Uyghur genocide, Taiwan, and the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
The platform briefly went dark for about 14 hours on January 20, 2025, during the transfer of presidential power, only to return after Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for a sale. Trump has since cited ongoing negotiations with potential buyers and hinted at deals with China, though trade tensions and retaliatory tariffs have complicated matters.
Despite bipartisan congressional efforts to oust TikTok—Rep. John Moolenaar, sponsor of the original ban legislation, told WORLD that "these laws show a strong bipartisan commitment to protecting America’s national security, and now it’s critical that they are fully enforced"—the White House has signaled a willingness to keep the platform alive, at least for now. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew expressed gratitude for Trump’s support, stating, "We are grateful for President Trump’s leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses that rely on the platform as we continue to work with Vice President Vance’s office."
As the September deadline looms, TikTok’s fate in the U.S. hangs in the balance, caught between state-led legal challenges, federal security concerns, and the shifting political winds of Washington. The coming weeks promise to be decisive for the platform’s millions of American users, businesses, and—perhaps most importantly—the young people at the heart of this national debate.
