Attorney General Ellison defeats motion to dismiss in lawsuit against TikTok

State’s lawsuit against TikTok for addicting young people through app design features and an illegal virtual economy will move forward

March 23, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that Minnesota has prevailed against TikTok’s attempt to dismiss Minnesota’s lawsuit against the social media platform. On August 19, 2025, Attorney General Ellison sued TikTok for ensnaring young users into cycles of harmful, excessive use of its app through design features that prey on young people’s neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities, as well as operating an illegal money transmission scheme whereby it paired its livestreaming feature—TikTok LIVE—with unlicensed virtual currencies that have resulted in documented instances of sexual and financial exploitation of young TikTok users. TikTok moved to dismiss the State’s complaint and the Court heard oral argument on TikTok’s motion on December 23, 2025.

In an order earlier this month, the Hennepin County District Court denied TikTok’s motion to dismiss in full, holding that the court has personal jurisdiction over TikTok, and the State’s claims are not barred by the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230), nor the First Amendment.  In so holding, Judge Sullivan stated: “Plaintiff is not seeking to impose liability for the specific content available on Defendant’s app, but how the app’s features are designed to facilitate known harm.”  The court also rejected TikTok’s arguments that the State’s claims were insufficiently pled and that the Attorney General required a referral from the Commissioner of Commerce before it can enforce violations of Minnesota’s money transmission laws.

“TikTok has designed its product to be harmfully addictive in order to maximize its own profits” said Attorney General Keith Ellison. “I am pleased the Court is allowing our lawsuit against TikTok to move forward, and that it rejected TikTok’s motion to dismiss in full. This ruling puts us one step closer to ensuring TikTok stops preying on Minnesota children. As long as I’m attorney general, I will protect young Minnesotans from corporations that exploit them to turn a profit.”

The State will now proceed to seek discovery from TikTok.

Protecting young Minnesotans

Attorney General Ellison’s lawsuit against TikTok is part of his ongoing work combatting bad actors who attempt to prey on young Minnesotans for profit.

Holding social media companies accountable

In October 2023, Attorney General Ellison also joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for knowingly designing and deploying features to purposefully addict young people. Attorney General Ellison has previously called on both TikTok and Snapchat to implement more parental controls to better protect young people on the platforms. Attorney General Ellison also sharply criticized Instagram for creating a location sharing feature which allows all users, including young people, to broadcast their exact location. Attorney General Ellison demanded Instagram change this feature to ensure minors cannot broadcast their location.

Attorney General Ellison’s office also produced the State of Minnesota’s first comprehensive “ Report on Emerging Technology and Its Effects on Youth Well-Being,” in 2024. The report details the harmful effects that emerging technologies, like social-media platforms and artificial intelligence, are having on young people in Minnesota and makes a series of recommendations for policymakers to create a safer and healthier online environment for children and teenagers.

In February 2025, Attorney General Ellison’s Office issued a follow-up report to the 2024 report, expanding on the prior report by delving more into the rapidly changing landscape of tools powered by artificial intelligence and how those tools are being used by and causing harm to children and teenagers.

Fighting youth vaping

In December 2019, Attorney General Ellison sued e-cigarette maker Juul on behalf of the people of Minnesota, for violating Minnesota’s consumer-protection laws, breaching its duty of reasonable care, and creating a public nuisance. The lawsuit detailed how JUUL developed sleek devices and flavors that were appealing to youth, and how JUUL’s youth-oriented marketing deceptively attracted and addicted young people.

After a trial at which the State presented 11 witnesses in support of its claims against JUUL and Altria, the parties reached a settlement in mid-April 2023. Under the terms of the Consent Judgment, Juul and parent company Altria agreed to pay a total of $60.5 million to the State of Minnesota over an eight-year period, which makes Minnesota’s settlement with JUUL the largest per capita in the country.

In August 2024, Attorney General Ellison sent a letter to more than 5,000 tobacco distributors and retailers, asking them to stop distributing, marketing, and selling unauthorized and illegal flavored tobacco products in Minnesota. The letter warned that the sale of distribution of unauthorized and illegal tobacco products may violate several Minnesota laws, including consumer protection laws and a new deceptive vapor law that prohibits the advertising, sale, or distribution of e-cigarettes that are described or depicted as imitating candy, desserts, or beverages that are commonly marketed to minors, that imitate school supplies, or that are based on or describe characters that appeal to minors.

In January 2025, the Attorney General subsequently announced an investigation of e-cigarette manufacturer Loon and a lawsuit against High Light Vapes, a maker of e-cigarette products that mimic highlighters and are designed to be easily concealable and usable by school-age children.

The Attorney General resolved the lawsuit against High Light Vapes in April 2025, winning a court order banning the company from doing business in Minnesota.