Parents Can’t Police Every App. State AGs Must Make Platforms Answer

Missouri’s actions put Temu, TikTok and Microsoft on the hook for answers, with TikTok’s Nov. 13 deadline and Microsoft’s 30-day response window now running.

State attorneys general should use consumer-protection laws to make online platforms answer for children’s safety. On Oct. 19, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway posted a video on X: “We want children to be safe in every online space, whether they’re using social media or engaging as consumers. Last week, we went after Temu, TikTok, and Xbox because we are committed to ensuring platforms put child safety first.” Last week, we went after Temu, TikTok, and Xbox because we are committed to ensuring platforms put child safety first.”¹

What does that standard require beyond a company's promise? Parents can set household rules, check settings and take a device away. Hanaway warned that Xbox Live is being used “by predators to trade child sexual abuse material, to groom children, and to lure children to in-person meetings,” ABC17NEWS reports. The outlet also reports that Michael Moya, 33, of Austin, Texas, was charged in Boone County on Aug. 26, 2026, with child enticement and related offenses; court documents say he presented himself on Xbox Live as a 15-year-old.”

Parental responsibility does not excuse corporate secrecy. In her social media post, Hanaway cited “inadequate or easily bypassed age verification procedures,” “ineffective default settings,” messaging safeguards and weak reporting tools, ABC17NEWS reports. KZRG reports that she also faulted ineffective parental controls and insufficient monitoring of voice and text communications. The state’s proper role is to enforce the law against deception and demand answers parents cannot compel on their own.

“We want children to be safe in every online space, whether they’re using social media or engaging as consumers.”

Catherine Hanaway

Missouri made three platforms answer

On Oct. 13, Hanaway’s office announced a lawsuit against Temu, an e-commerce platform based largely in China, seeking a permanent injunction, civil penalties and other relief under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The office alleges that the app covertly collects personal information, including precise location data, microphone and camera access, and lists of apps and accounts on users’ devices².

TikTok received a Civil Investigative Demand requiring disclosure of how its algorithm selects and promotes content for children, KCTV reports. Its deadline to produce documents and information is Nov. 13, 2026³.

Microsoft faces a separate response window: Hanaway’s letter concerning Xbox, dated Oct. 1, gives the company 30 days to answer, ABC17NEWS reports⁴. A lawsuit seeks relief; an investigative demand requires records; a letter puts questions and a deadline before the company. Parents should expect officials to pursue those answers, not stop at issuing warnings.

30 days

Microsoft’s response window for the Xbox letter

Age checks and parental controls matter

Platforms must make age checks and parental controls work for parents.

The Temu allegations expose the parental-authority question directly: Hanaway’s office says the company “disregards parental authority with zero age verification or parental consent measures,” while using child-targeted advertising and gamification. The office also says drug paraphernalia, weapons and other dangerous items are readily available to minors on Temu².

The TikTok inquiry asks how the company determines age, which safeguards it applies to younger users and whether it enforces them, according to Hanaway’s office, as reported by KCTV³. Those are distinct questions: a stated rule means little without a way to apply it.

The reported Xbox incident makes the stakes concrete. KZRG also reports that investigators allege Bryan Patrick Nevin, a 22-year-old Edinburgh, Scotland, man, harassed a Chillicothe boy he met through Xbox, then traveled to Missouri in July and appeared outside the family’s home. Nevin pleaded not guilty to harassment and stalking charges⁵.

A family should not have to wait for an alleged online threat to arrive outside its home before a platform’s protections face scrutiny.

Microsoft’s report does not settle the question

Microsoft’s reported enforcement activity deserves a direct hearing: the company submitted 111,931 reports to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025, KZRG reports. It also reported acting against 22,651 consumer accounts associated with child sexual exploitation and abuse material, including grooming⁵.

Hanaway’s concerns concern prevention and response on Xbox: age verification, parental controls, communications monitoring and the speed of responses to reported threats, KZRG reports⁵. Microsoft should show how Xbox identifies risks, what parents can control and what happens when a child reports danger.

Other state attorneys general should follow Missouri

Other state attorneys general should examine how their consumer-protection laws can secure the same kind of accountability. They should demand records, investigate alleged deception and seek enforceable remedies where the evidence supports them.

Missouri parents concerned about harmful or deceptive social media practices can file a complaint with the attorney general’s office, KCTV reports. Parents elsewhere should ask their own attorney general to act.

Hold officials and platforms to concrete answers: Do age checks work? Can parents enforce meaningful limits? Are threats handled promptly?

Parents Can’t Police Every App. State AGs Must Make Platforms Answer

Missouri made three platforms answer

Age checks and parental controls matter

Microsoft’s report does not settle the question

Other state attorneys general should follow Missouri

Sources