How a TikTok deal could influence the outcome of Utah's lawsuit

SALT LAKE CITY — Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the potential ban of TikTok in the U.S., what becomes of Utah's lawsuit against the social media giant?

The Friday ruling highlighted security concerns as substantial grounds to sever ties with TikTok due to its Chinese-based parent company ByteDance Ltd.

In the last few years, U.S. leaders and TikTok ownership have tried to negotiate, yet "Executive branch officials ultimately determined, however, that ByteDance Ltd.'s proposed agreement did not adequately 'mitigate the risks posed to U. S. national security interests,'" per Friday's ruling.

"ByteDance Ltd. is subject to Chinese laws that require it to 'assist or cooperate' with the Chinese Government's 'intelligence work' and to ensure that the Chinese Government has 'the power to access and control private data' the company holds," the ruling said.

The Supreme Court decision does not mean TikTok will inevitably be banned.

President-elect Trump's national security adviser pick, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., told Fox News on Wednesday that Trump gives significant credit to the social media app "in spreading his message" during his presidential campaign, which inevitably led to him to winning the White House last November.

Trump has vocalized his desire to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., but Waltz added the incoming president is "going to protect their (American's) data. He's a dealmaker. I don't want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we're going to create this space to put that deal in place."

Utah's lawsuit remains ongoing

Utah's lawsuit may still be upheld if a deal is brokered and TikTok remains for the millions of U.S. users who communicate via video on its platform.

Attorney General Derek Brown said his office is "pleased" with the Supreme Court ruling and that Utah will continue to hold TikTok accountable for "harming our children."

The state's lawsuit, filed last June, focuses on allegations of "emotional, financial and sexual exploitation of children" by criminals and predators using the app, as well as accusations that the company profits from such abuse.

"Congress found the same thing Utah has found — the enmeshment between TikTok and its parent company ByteDance pose significant national security concerns, and that TikTok has known for some time that their activities harm our children but did nothing to stop those harms. As a state, we will continue our litigation against TikTok to hold them accountable for harming our children," Brown said.

Earlier this month, the Utah Department of Commerce's Division of Consumer Protection, represented by the Utah Attorney General's Office, detailed previously redacted information surrounding the original lawsuit against TikTok, Inc.

According to internal TikTok employee communications and compliance reports, the unredacted complaint revealed that TikTok became aware of the child exploitation risks associated with its livestream feature through a series of internal reviews.

One investigation, Project Meramec, found in early 2022 that "hundreds of thousands of minors" bypassed the minimum age restrictions for livestream content.

If a new owner obtained TikTok, it is likely that Utah's leadership will demand measures be implemented to ensure a policy blocking predators and criminals from exploiting users, especially children, is put in place.

"The revelations in this complaint are not just allegations of negligence — they are evidence of a deliberate choice to prioritize profit over the safety and well-being of our children," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in the press release. "TikTok knew the harm its platform was causing yet chose to look the other way, allowing predators to exploit minors in unconscionable ways. Utah will not stand idly by while social media companies endanger our kids for financial gain."

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