Nebraska

Nebraska sues TikTok, alleging teens are deceptively targeted • Nebraska Examiner

Published

2 years ago

May 22, 2024

Nebraska sues TikTok, alleging teens are deceptively targeted • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN — Teen TikTok users and parents who signed them up for the social media app were misled by the company about the safeguards in place to protect younger users, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said Wednesday.

The County-City Building in Lincoln serves as the home to Lancaster County courtrooms. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

Instead, Hilgers said, young people on the app are bombarded by addictive videos the algorithm recommends, including some that Hilgers said put young people’s mental health at risk, ranging from content encouraging body image issues to discussions about suicide.

The Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Lancaster County District Court alleging that the popular social media app built its business on hooking teens and children on the feedback loop of social media engagement.

Hilgers on Wednesday said it’s no accident that what social media companies have been doing in recent years to grow and keep their audiences sounds similar to what tobacco companies did in trying to lure young smokers into becoming lifelong users.

Hilgers says TikTok knew

A key driver of the lawsuit, Hilgers explained, is that TikTok knows it is distributing questionable videos to young people and knows that its business model relies on growing and holding its “golden audience.”

He said his investigators created accounts pretending to be 13-17 years old. The lawsuit alleges these investigators saw videos show up on their “For You” feeds that authorities deemed inappropriate. The app offered them without investigators searching for related topics.

TikTok Inc., the U.S. company that operates the popular social media service, and ByteDance, its parent company, filed suit Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit over a law requiring ByteDance to sell its subsidiary or face a ban from U.S. app stores. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

“TikTok holds itself out as a safe platform,” Hilgers said. “It tells people that it is a family friendly platform. It tells people that it’s been appropriate for people over the age of 12. It tells people that its restricted mode is effective.

“It has all sorts of claims that it makes to the public, and none of those claims are true.”

Hilgers said the lawsuit stemmed from a two-year investigation started by his predecessor, Doug Peterson, whose office began looking into social media content. The investigation has thus far resulted in Nebraska suing TikTok and Facebook’s parent company, Meta.

TikTok says it has safety tools

California-based TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, said Wednesday that the app has “industry-leading safeguards to support teens’ well-being.” Its statement pointed to age restrictions, parental controls, time limits and more.

“We will continue working to address these industry-wide challenges,” the company spokesman said.

Hilgers said those promised protections are ineffective and confusing for teens and parents to use. He also said they don’t curb access to questionable material by teens and younger kids. He said his office also saw inappropriate sexual content.

The Nebraska consumer protection lawsuit is the latest risk facing TikTok. It also faces a new federal law seeking to force the separation of the company from its Chinese ownership by 2025 over data privacy and U.S. national security concerns.

Nebraska is one of more than 25 states that have banned the use of TikTok on phones, tablets and computers used by state government employees, citing security concerns. The federal government also restricts the use of the app on its devices.

Some states have discussed passing broader bans on the app, which is among one of the more popular ways young people get their news and information. Montana recently banned it, but a federal judge paused the ban, citing constitutional concerns.

Civil fines possible

In Nebraska, TikTok and ByteDance face potential civil fines of up to $2,000 for each alleged violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act and another $2,000 for each alleged violation of the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln is shown on Feb. 2, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Hilgers, much like he did when suing Meta, said he hopes the company will change course and “tell the truth by saying exactly what their platform does.” He said they could change the material they show teens and younger users.

“At the end of the day, we want them to be honest,” he said.

The AG said he would have brought the lawsuit against TikTok with or without the passage last session of State Sen. Carolyn Bosn’s Legislative Bill 934, which demands jury trials in similar lawsuits.

But he said he was encouraged at the prospect of a Nebraska jury weighing allegations against TikTok and ByteDance. Bosn, a former prosecutor, has argued that requiring jury trials could encourage settlement talks with the companies involved.

Internal documents could be key

Hilgers said his office is asking a judge to publicly release or unseal internal documents obtained from TikTok during the investigation. He said they will help show what sort of content was shown to teens.

Some glorified drug use. Others talked about sex. Still others focused on weight loss and were steered to young women already at risk of eating disorders.

Hilgers expressed skepticism that TikTok’s system of removing videos that are reported as in violation of its rules is the most effective way to police the site. He said TikTok’s algorithm is sophisticated enough to limit what it shares.

One of the biggest challenges for parents of children with TikTok accounts is knowing what they are named and how to access them. Many kids don’t tell parents they have access, so many parents don’t know their kids’ passwords and can’t check on them.

Hilgers said tens of thousands, if not more than a hundred thousand Nebraskans, have TikTok accounts. About 150 million Americans use the app daily. Half of its youngest users spend hours a day on the app. This hurts school performance, behaviors and mental health, he said.

The AG said he thinks he has all the tools he needs to enforce consumer protection law on TikTok. But he said he would address any shortcomings with state lawmakers. He said his office isn’t done investigating social media companies.

“This is truly digital poison,” Hilgers said.

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Nebraska

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

Published

5 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.

The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.

Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.

“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”

Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.

“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”

Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.

“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”

Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.

“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”

This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).

“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.

UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).

The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.

“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”

UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.

Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.

Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.

UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.

“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”

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4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

Published

17 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.

A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.

But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.

Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.

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Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-5-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-09-17-25

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing

Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing

Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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