Texas Gov. Greg Abbott claims Mexican cartels are using TikTok to recruit smugglers

• Gov. Greg Abbott held a border security briefing with 12 Republican attorneys general on Thursday.
• Abbott claimed cartels are advertising paid smuggling jobs on TikTok, including human trafficking.

During a border security briefing on Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott alleged that TikTok is promoting human trafficking in Texas and harshly criticized the Biden administration's response.

"Cartels in Mexico are using TikTok to advertise, to recruit smugglers in Texas, in San Antonio, Houston, and other cities in Texas and maybe some other states, to advertise for smugglers, for pay, for them to smuggle people here in Texas, which would include victims of human trafficking," Abbott said.

The Republican governor suggested that an injunction similar to the one used to shut down Backpage.com — a now-defunct classified advertising website that was used to facilitate prostitution and child sex trafficking — could be used against the social media platform.

"TikTok should be ashamed, condemned, and have a legal action brought against it for promoting human trafficking in Texas and the United States of America," Abbott claimed.

Attorneys general from twelve conservative states attended the briefing, including Oklahoma, Utah, Missouri, and West Virginia.

Insider has reached out to Abbott and representatives of TikTok for comment.