Thu | Nov 20, 2025

Minnesota sues TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms

Published:Tuesday | August 19, 2025 | 7:00 PM
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison briefs reporters in his office about the lawsuit he filed against social media giant TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms, at the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minn., Tuesday,
Steve Karnowski
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison briefs reporters in his office about the lawsuit he filed against social media giant TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms, at the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minn., Tuesday, August 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota on Tuesday joined a wave of states suing TikTok, alleging the social media giant preys on young people with addictive algorithms that trap them into becoming compulsive consumers of its short videos.

“This isn’t about free speech. I’m sure they’re gonna holler that,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. “It’s actually about deception, manipulation, misrepresentation.

This is about a company knowing the dangers, and the dangerous effects of its product, but making and taking no steps to mitigate those harms or inform users of the risks.”

The lawsuit, filed in state court, alleges that TikTok is violating Minnesota laws against deceptive trade practices and consumer fraud.

It follows a flurry of lawsuits filed by more than a dozen states last year alleging the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms their mental health.

Minnesota’s case brings the total to about 24 states, Ellison’s office said.

Many of the earlier lawsuits stemmed from a nationwide investigation into TikTok launched in 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 14 states into the effects of TikTok on young users’ mental health. Ellison, a Democrat, said Minnesota waited while it did its own investigation.

The lawsuit comes while President Donald Trump is still trying to broker a deal to bring the social media platform, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, under American ownership over concerns about the data security of its 170 million American users. While Trump campaigned on banning TikTok, he also gained more than 15 million followers on the platform since he started sharing videos on it.

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