RICHMOND, VA (CVILLERIGHTNOW) – Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a federal ban on TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company and followed up by filing a lawsuit against the platform. The lawsuit accuses TikTok of harming children with explicit content and exposing users to potential data exploitation by the Chinese government. “TikTok has crossed a line, and today will be asked to pay a price,” Miyares said.

The lawsuit, filed in the Richmond City Circuit Court, alleges that TikTok was intentionally designed to be addictive for adolescents and violated the Virginia Consumer Protection Act by deceiving parents and users. It claims the app falsely markets itself as appropriate for children over 12 or rated T for Teen while exposing them to “severe profanity, sexually explicit material, violence, mature themes, and drug and alcohol content. Making matters worse, TikTok continues to misrepresent the potential for the Chinese government to access and exploit Virginians’ data.”

Miyares previously filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court supporting the ban. national security and data privacy threats posed by TikTok. He praised the Court’s ruling, effective Sunday, which will stop app stores from offering TikTok unless it changes ownership. The Associated Press reports that while current users can keep using the app, they won’t get updates or be able to reinstall it, and it will eventually stop working properly.

“As the People’s Protector, I will use the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to shield all Virginians, and especially our children, from this deceptive and harmful conduct,” Miyares said.

TikTok denies the allegations, stating there is no evidence of interference or misuse of user data by the Chinese government.