Iowa Sues TikTok For Being More Raunchy Than It Lets On

Legal Issues

from the get-me-mah-faintin'-couch dept

The state-based attacks on social media take all different forms. And the specific attacks on TikTok are some of the most notable in how little state officials seem to care about basic concepts like the 1st Amendment. The most obvious example is Montana’s failed attempt to just outright ban TikTok, but we’ve also seen other states looking for whatever sliver of authority it might have to limit TikTok.

Iowa is the latest to step into the ring, suing TikTok using the theory that because TikTok tells app stores it’s for ages 12+, and that categorization has some parameters, and (according to Iowa) there’s more raunchy content on its service that that rating implies, it’s somehow misleading to the citizens of Iowa.

Does this sound like a stretch? It sure does to me, but it really is the fundamental basis of the lawsuit. At least Iowa’s lawyers know that they can’t directly sue for TikTok hosting perfectly constitutional speech, so they’re trying this end-run: suing the company for allegedly misrepresenting how much of certain kinds of speech can be found on the platform.

TikTok represents to Iowa parents and Iowa children that inappropriate content on its platform, including drugs, nudity, alcohol, and profanity, is “infrequent.” Those representations are lies. Music, videos, and other content available on the TikTok app contains sexual content, drugs, alcohol, intense profanity, self-harm messages, and other X-rated content, all of which are frequently and easily accessible at the fingertips and swipes of Iowa tweens and teens.

TikTok is lying to Iowa consumers, particularly parents, about the content available on its app. TikTok claims a “12+” rating in Apple’s App Store, and makes specific representations there about its content, including that the TikTok app contains only:

• “Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content and Nudity”
• “Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humour”
• “Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes”
• “Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References”

Those representations are false. The TikTok app contains frequent and intense sexual content and nudity, profanity and crude humor, mature and suggestive themes, and alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and references. TikTok knows and intends to evade the parental controls on Apple devices by rating its app “12+.” If TikTok correctly rated its app, it would receive a “17+” age rating, and parental restrictions on phones would prevent many kids from downloading it.

This… seems like performative nonsense on multiple levels, and I’m sure that Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird knows that. But we live in the era of performative culture war lawmaking and litigating, and this is yet another example. And, of course, since this case is (currently) in Iowa state court, rather than federal court, who knows? Perhaps the state will get a local judge who doesn’t quite understand the Constitution (it happens more often than most people would like to admit).

While there is a line that companies can cross in terms of misrepresenting a product in a way that harms consumers, TikTok choosing 12+ rather than 17+… is not it. And, the “amount” of such content on the platform is really a relative thing, so determining “infrequent” or not is hugely subjective. And, perhaps it’s a small sample size, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across any such content on TikTok personally.

Which kinda makes me wonder how Iowa law enforcement officials are using TikTok to train its algorithm…

This whole case is on the fast track to nowhere. Indeed it’s similar to the case that Indiana filed against TikTok last year that was easily dismissed in late November. In that case, the judge noted that the case really had fuck all to do with Indiana, and the same is true of Iowa.

A lot of the Iowa complaint is redacted, so maybe there’s something more convincing behind the blacked-out lines, but that would be surprising.

There are some parts of the complaint that maybe are more interesting, but it’s not clear to me there’s a legit claim anywhere. The complaint says that 13-year-olds can search for the content it complains about, but, um, yes. The 1st Amendment allows that. Sorry, Iowa. Second, the only way to prevent 13-year-olds from doing that is to age verify them, and age verification laws have already been struck down as unconstitutional as well.

In the end, what Iowa is left with is that they don’t like “crude” content on TikTok. But, again, the 1st Amendment protects it. I mean, this whole thing is hilarious:

TikTok also exempts profanity—no matter how extreme— from its content restrictions if it appears in song lyrics… For example, a video set to music with these lyrics is available to all users on the TikTok app and eligible to be served in any user’s For You Feed: “I just want you to fuck me to sleep. Fuck me so good; I want my cheeks clapped daddy. Clap’em. So lay me down while I arch that ass back back. I need that good pipe daddy.”

I just love that some prudish Iowa state lawyer had to enter that in their complaint.

But, even such lyrics are 1st Amendment protected. And I’m sure the reason TikTok excludes profanity in music from its content restrictions is that so much popular music these days has profanity. But that profanity remains 1st Amendment protected.

The examples, by the way, get funnier. It’s almost as if you can see the Iowa lawyers grasping for their pearls and demanding their fainting couches.

A video of a woman lip-synced to the lyrics: “Lick me, fuck me, kiss me, tease me, Bitch, take out your titties, I wan’ see ‘em.” This video has been “liked” more than 65,000 times on the TikTok app.

A video of a girl in school lip-syncing to the lyrics: “I’ma drop the bitch off when I’m done/ You kiss her on her lips when my dick was on her tongue/ I know what’s going down when her hair in a bun/ you putting all yo’ trust in that bitch.” This video has been “liked” more than 136,000 times on the TikTok app.

A video of a girl dancing to the lyrics: “Baby, I’m good at fuckin’, hey/ bring that ass here, let me touch it/ She don’t even notice, I nutted/ Slow that ass down, got me runnin, bitch/ I’m tryna pull on her sexy red hair/ Snatch off that motherfuckin’ bonnet/ She got that good ghetto pussy that put you to sleep/ While she run through your motherfuckin’ pockets, nigga.” This video has been liked more than 295,000 times on the TikTok app.

A video of two girls in a high school dancing to the lyrics “Lil’ bitch really fuck it up/ On her hand stand, doin’ tricks fuck it up/ If you aint from the gang you get hit with these slugs/ Eight point stand lil’ bitch fuck it up/ on the gang, gang, gang, gang/ Bitch do yo’ thang, thang, thang, thang/ and yo’ bitch in the party getting’ hit by/ The whole damn gang, gang, gang, gang.” This video has been liked more than 197,000 times on the TikTok app and was recommended to a 13-year-old user by TikTok’s For You Feed algorithm.

Basically, the government of Iowa is shocked shocked shocked that music these days includes profanity, and are… suing TikTok about it.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, age restrictions, consumer protection, free speech, iowa, profanity
Companies: tiktok