Appeals Court Upholds Indiana’s Lawsuit Against TikTok

Source: (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Indiana Court of Appeals has overturned a ruling by an Allen County judge that threw out a lawsuit against TikTok filed by the state.

The judge agreed with TikTok that the state failed to make a claim of a “consumer transaction” between them and end users under the state’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. The lawsuit accused TikTok of engaging in deceptive business practices that it claimed were in violation of state law,

The Indiana Court of Appeals, however, ruled the state does have “specific personal jurisdiction” over the social media app due to millions of users in the state and TikTok reporting $46 million in income from Hoosiers in 2021.

The Appeals Court noted in its ruling that it had “little trouble” in deciding to overturn the Allen County judge’s original ruling.

“The Indiana Court of Appeals took a common sense approach and agreed with our office’s argument that there’s simply no serious question that Indiana has established specific personal jurisdiction over TikTok,” said Attorney General Todd Rikita in an emailed statement. “By earning more [than] $46 million dollars from Hoosier consumers in 2021, TikTok is doing business in the state and is therefore subject to this lawsuit. We were the first state in the nation to file suit against TikTok and look forward to continuing this fight.”