A Texas judge has ruled that TikTok violated state consumer-protection laws by giving users a misleading picture of how effectively it protected minors from inappropriate content.
The decision centers on TikTok’s content-filtering practices and its Restricted Mode, a feature promoted as a way to limit material considered unsuitable for younger users.
Texas filed its lawsuit against TikTok in January 2025, accusing the social media company of portraying its platform as safer for children than it actually was.
According to the ruling, TikTok told users that material violating its Community Guidelines would be removed. But the state argued that the company internally categorized some of that content as “hard to find” rather than material that had to be taken down. That meant certain posts could remain accessible on the platform.
Judge Cory Liu sided with Texas on that issue, finding that the practice amounted to a violation of the state’s consumer-protection law.
The judge also found that Texas had demonstrated that Restricted Mode failed to operate as TikTok had represented. Content that the company said the feature would filter could still be seen by minors.
The ruling does not determine the penalties TikTok may face. The case is expected to move to trial, where the court will consider possible financial penalties and other remedies. The Texas attorney general’s office said the trial could be scheduled as early as next month.
The case adds to mounting legal pressure on major social-media platforms over the way their products affect young users.
TikTok agreed in August to settle three U.S. lawsuits filed by young people who alleged that social-media companies deliberately designed their platforms to encourage addictive use and contributed to mental-health problems.
Meta has faced similar litigation. In a separate development that same month, the company agreed to settlements worth as much as $18 billion over allegations involving social-media addiction among children.
