Attorney advertisingBriefConsumer & Data Privacy
Texas court finds TikTok liable in AG suit over child safety misrepresentations; penalty trial next
Responsible attorney: Lou Schwartz, Schwartz & Associates, PC, Atlanta, Georgia. intake@snalawyers.com
On Sept. 10, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that a court presided over by Judge Cory Liu found TikTok liable for misrepresenting its safety standards to minors. The State alleged that TikTok claimed it would remove graphic videos depicting drugs, nudity, alcohol, injuries and profanity, but that such content remained accessible to minors even under Restricted Mode. A trial on penalties and relief is expected to follow.
Why it matters. A liability ruling for a state attorney general on platform safety misrepresentations adds to the record in parallel youth social media litigation and could shape other state enforcement.
Update, Sept. 29, 2026: The Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals halted all trial court proceedings while it considers TikTok's bid for immediate appellate review of the Sept. 10 liability ruling, pausing the penalty trial that Texas had expected to be set for October.
Sources
- Texas AG press release (texasattorneygeneral.gov)
- KPRC Click2Houston report (click2houston.com) secondary
- Update source (www.lawcommentary.com) secondary
Briefs summarize public developments. Unless stated otherwise, the firm is not counsel in the matters described, and allegations are not findings.
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