Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall says the state is suing TikTok on the argument the social media app is exploiting minors and addicting them to harmful content. 

Marshall made the allegation in a lawsuit Tuesday that also names TikTok's parent company, ByteDance Inc., as a defendant. 

The lawsuit was filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court and seeks to hold TikTok accountable for contributing to the mental health crisis among young Alabamians. 

The lawsuit argues the algorithm on TikTok allows kids to mindlessly scroll and be exposed to content that promotes “depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and drug use, as well as dangerous viral ‘challenges," according to the News19 outlet.

Similar arguments have been made for years about the short-form video app, whose owner is China based. 

“TikTok’s so-called ‘safety features’ are a joke," Marshall said in a statement. "They are nothing more than a marketing ploy to trick parents into trusting a product that TikTok knows full well is dangerous. Alabama families deserve the truth, and we will make sure they get it.”

TikTok has also faced concerns about the app and its owner collecting personal data from users.

Congress voted to ban TikTok in 2024. The matter of the social media app being banned went to the Supreme Court. In January, the higher court sided with Congress and ruled TikTok had to divest or be banned. 

However, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to extend its stay in order to make a long-term deal with the company.