TikTok Illegally Collected Children’s Personal Data

The Department of Justice has filed a significant lawsuit against TikTok, alleging that the social media platform collects personal data from children in violation of federal law. This legal action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and, if successful, could result in TikTok being liable for billions in damages.

Brian Boynton, head of the DOJ Civil Division, stated, “This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control.”

The suit accuses TikTok of breaching both the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and a 2019 settlement between TikTok’s parent company ByteDance and the Federal Trade Commission. Among the allegations are claims that TikTok enables underage users to create accounts without parental permission and knowingly stores their data.

Further allegations suggest that TikTok collects data on users of its “Kids Mode” in violation of the settlement and shares this data with advertising partners, including Facebook. The platform is also accused of failing to comply with parental requests for account deletion.

TikTok faces a potential ban following President Biden’s signing of a bill aimed at forcing the sale of the company away from the Chinese company ByteDance due to national security concerns. In response to the lawsuit, TikTok has denied the allegations, according to the New York Times.

“We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed,” TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek said. “We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform.”

The platform has faced increasing scrutiny over its privacy mechanisms and the content its algorithm often serves to children. Despite efforts from both Democrats and Republicans to shut down or sell off the platform, TikTok has become an increasingly important tool for political campaigns in the United States.