US Sues TikTok Over ‘Massive-Scale’ Privacy Violations of Kids Under 13
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance for allegedly failing to protect children’s privacy on the platform. The government claims TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which mandates parental consent for collecting personal information from users under 13.
TikTok, with around 170 million U.S. users, is also contesting a new law requiring ByteDance to divest its U.S. assets by January 19 or face a ban. The lawsuit, joined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), aims to halt TikTok’s “unlawful massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy.” Representative Frank Pallone emphasized the need to separate TikTok from Chinese Communist Party control to safeguard American data.
TikTok disputes the allegations, stating many relate to past practices that have been addressed. The DOJ accuses TikTok of knowingly allowing children to create accounts and share content without parental consent, thereby collecting their personal information unlawfully.
FTC Chair Lina Khan highlighted TikTok’s repeated privacy violations, endangering millions of children. The FTC seeks penalties up to $51,744 per violation per day, potentially amounting to billions of dollars.
