Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird seeks to force TikTok to raise age rating to ’17+’
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
March 22, 2024
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is asking a court to require TikTok to change its age rating in the Apple App Store.
Bird is seeking a temporary injunction that would require TikTok, a video social media app, to change its age rating to “17+” in the App Store until a lawsuit is resolved. The state attorney general sued TikTok in January, claiming that the app and its owner were deceiving parents with the current “12+” age rating, as some videos posted on the platform feature explicit material, including sexual content, profanity, drugs and self-harm.
Bird argued in the lawsuit that TikTok not abiding by the age warning system violates the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act.
“It’s past time for TikTok to be honest with parents,” Bird said in a statement. “As a mom and prosecutor, I am deeply disturbed by TikTok’s lying to parents and recommending explicit videos to kids, including videos packed with sexual content and self-harm. That’s why I’m taking action to make TikTok raise its App Store age rating to ‘17+.’ I will do everything in my power to stop TikTok’s deception and keep kids safe online.”
The action comes as TikTok faces increased scrutiny from politicians in Washington for its ties to China. The U.S. House passed a bill earlier in March, supported by all four Iowa Republican representatives, that would force TikTok to separate from its parent company Bytedance, a Chinese-owned company within 180 days of being signed into law. The bill would ban American app stores and web hosting companies from distributing or maintaining platforms controlled by U.S. foreign adversaries, like China.
During a 2023 house panel, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said his company has not removed content at the request of the Chinese government, and spoke about the company’s plan to move U.S. user data to storage in servers located in Austin, Texas with the company Oracle.
“All protected U.S. data will be under the protection of U.S. law and under the control of the U.S.-led security team,” he said. “This eliminates the concern that some of you have shared with me that TikTok user data can be subject to Chinese law.”
But lawmakers said they still had concerns that the company would be required to divulge data and user records to China if requested, regardless of where data is stored.
Earlier in March, Bird also signed on to an amicus brief with 46 other states asking TikTok to comply with a multistate investigation into whether the company violated consumer protection laws through content impacting youth mental health. In a news release, Bird called for holding social media companies accountable in addressing growing mental health concerns for young Americans, while also linking the problems to Chinese influence.
“TikTok has grown China’s global presence and given them direct influence over our children,” Bird said in a news release on the filing. “We must evaluate TikTok’s business practices to determine whether it has broken laws and engaged in conduct that hurts youth mental health.”
In a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing in January, Chew told federal lawmakers that TikTok is “vigilant” about enforcing its 13 age requirement, and that there are steps set up on the app to ensure children’s safety — such as not allowing direct messaging on accounts for children under age 16, and limiting screentime on the app to 60 minutes for people younger than age 18.
“We made these choices after consulting with doctors and safety experts who understand the unique stages of teenage development, to ensure that we have the appropriate safeguards to prevent harm and minimize risk,” Chew said.
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