California’s TikTok Child Addiction Suit Gets Boost From Judge

A judge said TikTok Inc. should have to face California’s claims that the platform’s features are addictive and harmful to kids.

In a tentative ruling Wednesday, the judge said the company isn’t immune from the state’s allegations that the platform preys on young people through algorithms that keep them scrolling to maximize profits.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Beth McGowen in San Jose tentatively denied the company’s request to dismiss the suit under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the 1996 federal statute that shields companies from liability over comments, ads, pictures and videos on their platforms.

The ...