Summary

Utah’s lawsuit against TikTok, supported by newly unsealed documents, alleges the platform knowingly allowed its LIVE feature to exploit minors for profit.

Internal investigations (Projects Meramec and Jupiter) revealed widespread grooming of children for sexual acts in exchange for virtual gifts and use of the platform for money laundering, drug sales, and terrorism funding.

TikTok denies the claims, citing safety measures.

The disclosures come ahead of a U.S. ban on TikTok unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, divests.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the ban’s suspension on Jan. 10.