TikTok lawsuit: U.S. sues company over child privacy
The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance on Friday.
The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance on Friday, alleging that the company repeatedly violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
The government alleged in the suit that TikTok knowingly collected data from millions of children under the age of 13 and allowed them to interact with adults and adult content on the app.
According to the civil suit, obtained by CNBC, TikTok is accused of storing data like email addresses from users under the age of 13, allowing them to create regular accounts (TikTok also offers a pared-down version of the platform for children under 13), and not honoring the requests of parents who seek deletion of their young children’s accounts.
“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a release. “The FTC will continue to use the full scope of its authorities to protect children online — especially as firms deploy increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil kids and profit from their data.”
In a statement, TikTok disagreed with the allegations in the suit.
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