March of 2027 Could Finally See TikTok in the Dock

Social Media,

Arkansas’ lawsuit against social media giant TikTok could go to trial in March of next year, according to an amended court scheduling order filed earlier this month.

With an estimated billion users worldwide — including approximately 135 million in the U.S. — TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms on the planet. Its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, has been valued at $300 billion.

But for years, TikTok has been under scrutiny for struggling to protect private user data from entities in China such as the Chinese Communist Party. The platform has also been accused of serving users a steady “diet of darkness” online.

In 2023, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued TikTok, calling it “a Chinese ‘Trojan Horse’ unleashed on unsuspecting American consumers,” and highlighting how TikTok’s algorithm “force-feeds” objectionable content to users — including “illegal drug use, sex, violence, and self-harm.”

Griffin’s team says that TikTok deceptively labeled its app as being appropriate for ages 13 and up when it really should have been rated 17+.

The lawsuit argues that TikTok violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and that TikTok should be held liable in court.

It’s taken three and a half years to reach this point, but Arkansas’ lawsuit against TikTok could go to trial March 15-29 of 2027, under a scheduling order filed on September 3.

That’s assuming TikTok doesn’t decide to settle its consumer protection lawsuits the same way Facebook has.

Last month, social media company Meta — which owns Facebook and Instagram — agreed to settle a long list of lawsuits over teen social media addiction for a total of up to $17.1 billion. That settlement resolved a lawsuit Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed in 2023.

The lawsuits against Meta were similar to lawsuits TikTok faces in court. TikTok has been under pressure to follow Meta’s lead, but so far the company has refused to do so.

Family Council is not aware of any attorney general in America who is doing more to fight for children online and hold tech companies accountable than Attorney General Tim Griffin.

Besides Meta and TikTok, Griffin’s office has also taken social media company Snap to court. His team has defended laws designed to keep kids safe online, and has fought to protect Arkansans’ private data.

Tech companies are more than just phone apps and websites. These are multibillion-dollar businesses. The people who profit from them have a responsibility to protect the users on their platforms.

We appreciate Arkansas Attorney General Griffin’s office for continuing to pursue court cases like the TikTok lawsuit.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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DraftKings Allegedly Used AI to Target Problem Gamblers

Gambling,
Photo Credit: WPT European Championship via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).

A bombshell investigation by The New York Times alleges that sportsbook DraftKings built an artificial intelligence model specifically designed to identify the gamblers most likely to lose — and then showered them with promotions to keep them betting.

The report raises serious questions about sportsbooks’ ethics, oversight, and regulation.

Sports betting is legal to varying degrees in most U.S. states — including Arkansas, where people are on track to wager nearly a billion dollars this year on sports betting alone. But a growing body of evidence shows this type of gambling is causing serious harm.

According to The New York Times, DraftKings developed a machine-learning model that scored users based on their playing frequency, daily account balances, and the ratio of their losses to total wagers. The higher a user’s score, the more DraftKings targeted them with promotions. A former DraftKings data analyst who helped build the system told the paper, “The best investment would be a problem gambler.” A second former analyst put it even more bluntly: “It is as predatory as it sounds.”

In other words, DraftKings used cutting-edge technology to identify and target the gamblers who may have been most vulnerable to addiction.

The article says DraftKings disputes the characterization, saying its promotions go to customers who show “sustained, engaged use” of the platform.

We have written before about how predatory sports betting is. It’s corrupting sports, and it’s ruining lives.

A growing body of evidence shows sports betting is causing serious financial problems. People who gamble on sports may be twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems — and when it happens online, the rate is even higher.

Legalized gambling has become a blight nationwide — including Arkansas. Arkansans wager an average of $2.5 million a day on sports betting alone. But the tax revenue from sports betting has not improved Arkansas’ roads or boosted the economy.

It’s worth pointing out Arkansas could stop sportsbooks from using AI to target gamblers the way DraftKings has been accused of doing.

Sports betting is not a harmless pastime. As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for Arkansas to protect citizens and families from predatory gambling. Otherwise, problem gambling will simply hurt more and more people in our state.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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California’s Marijuana Nightmare Shows Why Legalization Isn’t the Answer

Marijuana
Above: Authorities clean up an illegal marijuana site in Siskiyou County, California (Photo Credit: The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office).

A new investigative report out of California shows just how badly marijuana legalization can go wrong.

Nationwide, policymakers have legalized marijuana to varying degrees, and federal regulators have eased restrictions on the drug. But pundits continue to raise concerns about legalization’s unintended consequences — especially when it comes to crime and illegal drugs on the black market.

An investigation by City Journal into Northern California’s rural Siskiyou County found Chinese criminal organizations — some with reported ties to the Chinese Communist Party — have built a massive illegal marijuana empire. Investigators estimate the operation generates roughly $2 billion a year in illegal cannabis sales.

Illegal growers now make up an estimated 20% of Siskiyou County’s entire population.

This situation did not happen overnight. Chinese growers and illegal marijuana operations reportedly moved into Siskiyou County around the time California legalized recreational marijuana.

Back in 2024, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue told Fox Business that legalization was “a total failure in California,” saying the state had been inundated with black market marijuana.

Last year the EPA declared an environmental emergency in the county due to toxins from illegal pesticides used at illegal grow sites.

Instead of decreasing crime, marijuana’s legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels and increased the flow of illegal drugs across America.

The U.S. Department of Justice has said organized crime from Mexico and China may be making millions of dollars from marijuana grown on U.S. soil.

Chinese investors with “suitcases full of cash” reportedly have bought U.S. farmland to grow black market marijuana.

Authorities in California seized more than 63,000 pounds of illegal marijuana from April to June of this year and made multiple raids at illegal marijuana sites over the summer.

Illegal marijuana operations often are believed to be tied to labor trafficking and violent crime. They contribute to what some have called “modern day slavery on American soil.”

These grow sites often use illegal pesticides that poison users and pollute the local environment.

Arkansas sits at the heart of major drug trafficking corridors. As a result, the Arkansas State Police routinely intercept marijuana from other parts of the country that appears to be intended for the black market. It’s entirely possible some of that marijuana comes from illegal operations like the ones in Siskiyou County, California.

In other cases, marijuana may be grown legally but then illegally diverted to the black market.

Marijuana’s supporters in Arkansas have argued that legalization could decrease Arkansas’ crime problems, but experience shows that has not been the case in other states.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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