Pennsylvania sues TikTok for addiction — but that suit is messier than it soundsPennsylvania is suing TikTok over ‘addictive’ features – but that’s messier than it sounds

In August 2026, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday sued TikTok, claiming features like infinite scroll, autoplay and push notifications are deliberately designed to hook teenagers, and that the company lied about how well its safety controls work.

TikTok denies it, saying it has real safety measures in place. The author argues that this kind of lawsuit is not as clear-cut as it seems, because addiction is not a simple yes-or-no thing.

Heroin is banned, but coffee isn't

Heroin is so harmful it gets banned outright. But alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are also addictive, and they are not banned—just regulated more or less tightly. Gambling is another example: some people ruin themselves on it, yet nobody wants to ban it completely. Instead, countries limit how often you can gamble and where.

So suing TikTok with the same mindset used for heroin instantly splits products into two piles—dangerous versus safe—when in reality the truth sits on a long spectrum in between.

When lawyers act as judges

Is TikTok's design really 'deliberately addictive'? The author notes that keeping users engaged is standard practice across industries—gyms, casinos, subscription services all do it. Research also shows that scrolling produces a dopamine response similar to drinking a milkshake, far weaker than the response to cocaine or heroin.

Who should regulate this then? Ideally, legislatures. But Congress is too gridlocked to act, so attorneys general are stepping in. In the past, suing tobacco companies forced them to change their ads and drop cartoon mascots, and suing opioid makers imposed new rules on them. This 'regulation by lawsuit' can work, but courts are no substitute for expert agencies, and a verdict risks painting a nuanced issue in black and white.

This case will probably drag on for years, but whatever the outcome, it has already started something: exploiting addictive design for profit may not be so easy from now on.