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Attorney General Todd Rokita is urging all Hoosiers and Indiana-based companies to “patriotically delete” the TikTok video sharing application from every one of their smartphones and other mobile devices.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita speaks during a election night watch party for Republican congressional candidate Jennifer-Ruth Green Nov. 8 in Schererville.
The state’s chief legal officer is urging all Hoosiers and Indiana-based companies to “patriotically delete” the TikTok video-sharing application from every one of their smartphones and other mobile devices.
Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican originally from Munster, claims TikTok is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), through the government of China, and the app is being used to manipulate and spy on Americans.
“Indiana residents should not wait for Congress and the Biden White House to take action against this deceptive social networking app. We’ve got to take the initiative ourselves,” Rokita said.
Records show TikTok is the most popular app in the world with more than 3.5 billion downloads since 2018. Some 130 million Americans, including two-thirds of U.S. teenagers, report regularly using the video-sharing program.
Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita speaks along the U.S.-Mexico border about immigration, drugs, and other border issues
Rokita believes, however, TikTok is designed to use Americans’ smartphones to capture their attention and track their behavior, and he contends the app is riddled with security flaws that could transmit users’ personal data directly to the Chinese government.
In addition, Rokita claims TikTok misleads Americans by exposing them to sexually lewd content that isn’t available to Chinese users of the app operated by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd.
“The app is not only full of toxic material, which is highly inappropriate for children, but it also opens us up to foreign threats. Specifically, it allows a Chinese company overseen by the CCP to take our data,” Rokita said.
“China has said they want to be the dominant force in the world. This kind of technology is part of that strategy. We need patriots who will fight back against the dangers imposed by this app and others that are no doubt on the way,” he added.
Earlier this month, Rokita filed two lawsuits against ByteDance at the superior court in Fort Wayne alleging TikTok videos routinely expose children to adult content and claiming the company fails to protect the personal information of Hoosier consumers.
“The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users,” Rokita said upon filing the lawsuits. “In multiple ways, TikTok represents a clear and present danger to Hoosiers that is hiding in plain sight in their own pockets.
“At the very least, the company owes consumers the truth about the age-appropriateness of its content and the insecurity of the data it collects on users. We hope these lawsuits force TikTok to come clean and change its ways.”
Records show that while Indiana’s TikTok lawsuit was filed by the attorney general, it’s actually being pursued by attorneys from Cooper & Kirk PLLC, a Washington-based law firm working for the state on a contingency basis with the potential to earn a multimillion-dollar payout based on any recovery from TikTok.
Separately, Rokita joined 14 other Republican state attorneys general Dec. 13 in a joint letter to Apple and Google requesting the two app-store operators redesignate TikTok as a “17+” or “mature” app, in place of its “12+” or “teen” advisory rating.
They claim parents rely on the accuracy of the app store’s age ratings to help them decide which apps to allow their children to use, and the rating assigned to TikTok does not accurately reflect the content available on the service.
“Wow, man. What a scene. You can’t make up what we see out here on any given day,” Hobart patrol officer Tommie Tatum said.
“The TikTok app contains frequent and intense alcohol, tobacco and drug use or references, sexual content, profanity and mature/suggestive themes,” the letter says. “TikTok users can search for hundreds of thousands of hashtags related to these topics, which each return thousands of videos in these categories.
“When parents are deceived into letting their kids download TikTok, there are real consequences. Exposure to drug, alcohol and tobacco content on social media makes kids more likely to use or experiment with those illicit substances in real life. And exposure to sexual content on TikTok can lead to pornography addiction and even the sexual exploitation of kids by online predators.”
The letter also warns Apple and Google that any failure or refusal to update their TikTok age ratings may result in legal action, including potential civil penalties.
Democratic President Joe Biden is expected in coming days to sign into law a measure approved last week by the Democratic-controlled Congress prohibiting the installation or use of TikTok on mobile devices owned by the federal government.
State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond
1st House District
Represents: Hammond, Whiting
Experience: State representative since 2018; retired Cook County, Ill., probation officer
Committees: Environmental Affairs; Family, Children and Human Affairs; Natural Resources
State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago
2nd House District
Represents: East Chicago, Gary (west side), Hammond (east side)
Experience: State representative since 2016; small business owner
Committees: Government and Regulatory Reform; Roads and Transportation (ranking member); Ways and Means
State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary
3rd House District
Represents: Gary (downtown and east side), Hobart, Lake Station, New Chicago
Experience: State representative since 2018; attorney
Committees: Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development (ranking member); Courts and Criminal Code; Government and Regulatory Reform
State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso
4th House District
Represents: Valparaiso, Kouts
Experience: State representative since 2006; aviation safety consultant
Committees: Elections and Apportionment; Roads and Transportation; Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications (chairman)
State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City
9th House District
Represents: Michigan City, Beverly Shores, Chesterton, Long Beach
Experience: State representative since 2018; retired small business owner
Committees: Elections and Apportionment; Environmental Affairs; Natural Resources (ranking member)
State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage
10th House District
Represents: Portage, Burns Harbor, Dune Acres, Ogden Dunes, Porter, South Haven
Experience: State representative since 2008; financial solutions associate
Committees: Employment, Labor and Pensions; Financial Institutions; Veterans Affairs and Public Safety
State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron
11th House District
Represents: Hebron, Cedar Lake, DeMotte, Lowell, Morocco, Roselawn, Schneider
Experience: State representative since 2014; farmer, former state environmental regulator
Committees: Agriculture and Rural Development (chairman); Courts and Criminal Code; Environmental Affairs
State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster
12th House District
Represents: Munster, Griffith, Highland
Experience: State representative since 2020; small businessman
Committees: Financial Institutions (ranking member); Veterans Affairs and Public Safety; Ways and Means
State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary
14th House District
Represents: Gary (south side), Merrillville, unincorporated Calumet Township
Experience: State representative since 1990; education professor at Indiana University Northwest
Committees: Education (ranking member); Financial Institutions; Local Government
State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville
15th House District
Represents: Dyer, Schererville, St. John
Experience: State representative 2012-18, reelected 2020; small business owner
Committees: Financial Institutions; Rules and Legislative Procedures; Ways and Means
State Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer
16th House District
Represents: Rensselaer, Knox
Experience: State representative since 2022; farmer
Committees: Elections and Apportionment; Environmental Affairs (vice chairman); Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications
State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point
19th House District
Represents: Crown Point, Hobart, Lakes of the Four Seasons, Wheeler, Winfield
Experience: State representative 2014-2018, reelected 2020; small business owner
Committees: Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development (vice chairwoman); Family, Children and Human Affairs; Rules and Legislative Procedures
State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie
20th House District
Represents: LaPorte
Experience: State representative since 2016; small business owner
Committees: Elections and Apportionment; Government and Regulatory Reform; Roads and Transportation (chairman)
State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland
1st Senate District
Represents: Highland, Dyer, Griffith, Merrillville, St. John, Schererville
Experience: State senator since 2022; project manager
Committees: Education and Career Development; Environmental Affairs; Local Government; Pensions and Labor
State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago
2nd Senate District
Represents: East Chicago, Hammond, Munster, Whiting
Experience: State senator since 2008, previously served 1994-98; attorney
Committees: Appropriations; Ethics (vice chairman); Insurance and Financial Institutions (ranking member); Judiciary (ranking member); Tax and Fiscal Policy
State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary
3rd Senate District
Represents: Gary, Hobart, Lake Station, Merrillville, New Chicago
Experience: State senator since 2016; community relations manager
Committees: Appropriations (ranking member); Health and Provider Services; Judiciary; Tax and Fiscal Policy
State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton
4th Senate District
Represents: Chesterton, Beverly Shores, Burns Harbor, Michigan City, Portage
Experience: State senator since 2021; attorney
Committees: Corrections and Criminal Law (ranking member); Ethics; Local Government (ranking member); Pensions and Labor; Public Policy (ranking member); Rules and Legislative Procedure
State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso
5th Senate District
Represents: Valparaiso, Hebron, Jasper County, Wheeler
Experience: State senator since 2007; attorney
Committees: Appropriations; Health and Provider Services (chairman); Rules and Legislative Procedure; Tax and Fiscal Policy
State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell
6th Senate District
Represents: Lowell, Cedar Lake, Crown Point, DeMotte, Winfield
Experience: State senator since 2014, state representative 2012-14; small business owner
Committees: Environmental Affairs (chairman); Local Government; Tax and Fiscal Policy
State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores
8th Senate District
Represents: LaPorte County
Experience: State senator since 2016; consultant
Committees: Corrections and Criminal Law; Health and Provider Services; Local Government
Todd Rokita
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Chief Political Reporter
Dan has reported on Indiana state government for The Times since 2009. He also covers casinos, campaigns and corruption.
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