Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a landmark legal victory against social media giant TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, establishing a precedent that could radically alter how Big Tech platforms handle minor safety and content moderation in Texas.
Travis County District Judge Cory Liu issued a partial summary judgment holding TikTok liable for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), a state law that protects consumers and small businesses from false, misleading, or deceptive business practices.
The ruling marks the first time a state has held TikTok liable for lying about its safety standards.
Paxton initially filed the lawsuit in Travis County District Court in January 2025, alleging that ByteDance engaged in systematic deceptive trade practices.
According to Paxton’s office, TikTok claimed it would remove graphic videos depicting drugs, nudity, alcohol, injuries, and profanity. However, the state presented evidence that such content remained accessible to minors, even when “Restricted Mode” was enabled.
The court also addressed TikTok’s internal content-moderation policies. According to reporting on the ruling, Texas showed that some content violating TikTok’s community guidelines was classified internally as “hard to find” rather than “do not allow.” The distinction allowed the content to remain on the platform rather than being removed.
“TikTok sacrificed the safety and innocence of children for engagement and numbers, and now they are being held accountable,” Paxton said in a statement following the decision. “I will never stop fighting to protect Texas children.”
The ruling is separate from a lawsuit Paxton filed against TikTok under the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act. That case accuses the company of operating its platform in a manner that threatens the online safety and privacy of Texas children.
The case will go to trial to determine penalties and other relief.
The trial is expected to be scheduled for next month.
