A New Hampshire judge lets the state’s lawsuit over TikTok’s addictive design for children move forward

A judge in New Hampshire rejected TikTok’s request to dismiss a state lawsuit that accuses it of targeting children with manipulative and addictive features.

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella called the legal decision ”an important step toward holding TikTok accountable for unlawful practices that put children at risk.” Superior Court Judge John Kissinger Jr., in his decision on Tuesday, determined the state’s arguments were clear enough and centered specifically on design issues rather than user-generated content.

New Hampshire’s lawsuit alleges TikTok deliberately made the design of its platform addictive, particularly aiming to captivate younger users. 

The state argues TikTok employs features that keep children on the app longer, thus increasing advertising exposure and encouraging them to make purchases through TikTok Shop, its e-commerce component.

Similar claims have targeted other social media platforms

Meta has been accused by various states of using harmful, addictive design features in its apps that may negatively affect the mental health of children. Discord was also sued by New Jersey in April, accused of misleading the public about the effectiveness of its safety options for children.

In May, lawmakers reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act after it failed to progress in 2024. This law would make social media companies responsible for preventing harm to children using their platforms.

TikTok’s legal problems, on the other hand, are not new. In 2024, Joe Biden passed a law demanding that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, sell the app or face a U.S. ban. Following this, TikTok got deleted from Google and Apple’s app stores, shortly before Trump took office. 

Since then, Trump has delayed implementing this ban multiple times. The deadline to sell TikTok’s operations in the US has been extended three times. The latest deadline is now 17th September, 2025. 

In June, Trump said that several wealthy individuals were interested in buying TikTok and even mentioned a possible deal with China in the future. 

TikTok is developing a new app for US users

Separately, The Information reported TikTok is developing a new app for American users, reportedly using a different algorithm. However, TikTok disputed this report, labeling it as inaccurate.

Reportedly, on the same day when the new app launches, the existing app will get removed from the US Google and Apple app stores. According to sources familiar with the matter, US users may be able to use the current app till March 2026, although the timelines may vary. 

Furthermore, the report stated that several practical challenges exist when it comes to transfering content and profiles of current TikTok users on the new US app. This also means that US users may find it difficult to view content from other countries. 

ByteDance lawyers have argued that building a new app for the US would take several years, and at that point, it may become “a fundamentally different platform with different content.” This point still holds true whether or not TikTok uses it as an argument to avoid building a US version of its application.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot