Overview

• Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed the case in state court on Aug. 19, alleging deceptive practices that hook young users and seeking up to $25,000 for each instance a Minnesota minor accessed the app.
• The complaint singles out TikTok LIVE and its virtual currency system, alleging lax age checks and citing instances of financial and sexual exploitation of minors, including a money-transmission claim.
• TikTok disputes the allegations as misleading, pointing to teen account safeguards with 50+ features and its Family Pairing tool that offers parents 20+ content and privacy settings.
• In a parallel North Carolina case, Judge Adam Conrad unsealed an edited compilation of internal videos and denied TikTok’s bid to dismiss, with employees heard discussing goals that keep users on the app and worries about compulsive use and teen mental health.
• Ellison’s filing brings the total to roughly two dozen states pursuing similar claims, as federal divest-or-ban enforcement remains delayed with a Sept. 17 deadline still pending.