Kris Mayes, Arizona’s attorney general, has sued TikTok in the superior court in Maricopa County, and the complaint accuses the company of a “business strategy of purposefully addicting Minors to TikTok,” according to 12News. The state filed the lawsuit on Thursday, October 8, under its Consumer Fraud Act.
The attorney general’s office says the complaint alleges the app was built to drive compulsive use by young users, among them children under 13. The listed features include endless scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, appearance-altering filters and metrics that invite social comparison. The state also points to reward loops that surface harmful content, and it alleges the platform steers young users toward dangerous behavior. Among the harms it lists are higher odds of depression, anxiety and sleep problems.
The suit says TikTok deceived parents. It claims the company presents safety as a priority while concealing the dangers of its design from minors and families. One example is a 60-minute screen time limit that TikTok allegedly understood would fail to lower teens’ use. The state adds that TikTok used “placebo” testing that misled some users about whether safety features existed.
The legal claim behind Arizona’s lawsuit
Arizona law bans deception, false pretense and unfair practices in the sale or advertising of merchandise. Concealing a material fact also counts when it is done with the intent that others rely on it. A violation can occur “whether or not any person has in fact been misled, deceived or damaged,” the statute says. The state is seeking a court order to stop the practices, repayment of money gained through them, and civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each willful violation.
The complaint also targets how the app works day to day. It alleges that TikTok’s recommendation system shows minors increasingly extreme or age-inappropriate material and that its content moderation lets a lot of dangerous material through. TikTok publicly bars children under 13, but the state says it knowingly allows extensive use by that age group. The state also says flaws in design and moderation make the sexual exploitation of children possible.
Company records cited in the lawsuit show about 543,000 Arizona minors used the app each month on average from spring 2022 through the end of 2023, KTAR reports. “Arizona’s children are paying the price for TikTok’s pursuit of profit,” Mayes said. She compared the case to the landmark lawsuit against Meta.
A TikTok spokesperson said the lawsuit “relies on misleading and inaccurate claims” and ignores safety measures the company has put in place. The company said it will “vigorously defend against these claims.” The case follows other legal action against the company. TikTok agreed last month to a settlement with Alabama worth no less than $100 million; the state had sued in 2025 over harm to children.
Some Arizona school districts have also brought their own suits against TikTok and similar companies over students’ mental health.
Published: Oct 9, 2026 12:24 pm