US Hits TikTok with Major Lawsuit for 'Massive-Scale' Privacy Violations Targeting Kids

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a major lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance, accusing them of massive-scale privacy violations involving children under 13.

TikTok’s Massive-Scale Data Collection Violations

In continuation of the Biden administration's crackdown on the social media platform, the U.S. Justice Department has sued TikTok and its parent firm ByteDance for failing to safeguard the privacy of children using the app. The case was filed on Friday.

Reuters reports that the government said that TikTok broke the law by not getting parental consent before collecting personal information from individuals under the age of 13, which is a requirement of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

With about 170 million users in the United States, the short-video platform ByteDance is battling a new rule that would ban the company unless it divests its U.S. assets from TikTok by January 19.

The United States has taken legal action against TikTok and its Chinese parent firm on multiple occasions due to concerns that the corporation gathers excessive personal data about Americans for the benefit of the Chinese government and manipulates content to damage Americans. This complaint is the most recent example of such actions.

The Federal Trade Commission was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that sought to end "to TikTok's unlawful massive-scale invasions of children's privacy."

"The lawsuit "underscores the need of divesting TikTok from Chinese Communist Party leadership," said Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is absolutely unacceptable that our enemies are able to access and steal so much personal information from the American people.

TikTok stated on Friday that it disagrees "with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform."

According to the DOJ, TikTok allowed minors to sign up for normal accounts, where they could then make and share short videos and messages with adults and others. Without the parents' permission, TikTok gathered personal information from these kids.

TikTok's Privacy Breach Impacting Millions of Kids

Millions of American children under the age of thirteen have allegedly used TikTok for years, and the United States claims that the platform "has been collecting and retaining children's personal information."

FTC Chair Lina Khan stated, "TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country" when June saw her agency refer the matter to the Justice Department.

CNA elaborates that if proven guilty, the FTC is suing TikTok for unlawful data collection, which could cost the company billions of dollars (or $51,744 per violation each day).

The FBI and the Department of Justice are reportedly investigating claims that the widely used social media platform violated a 2019 agreement meant to safeguard the privacy of youngsters, according to Reuters' 2020 report.

Due to its treatment of children's data, the corporation was fined last year by both the EU and the UK.

Senate Moves to Protect Children’s Data Online

The United States Senate approved a measure on Tuesday that would make it possible for both parents and children to request the deletion of their personal data from social media, outlaw targeted advertising to children and teenagers, and expand COPPA to include teens up to the age of 17.

To become law, the measure must be approved by the House of Representatives, which is now in recess until September and is controlled by Republicans.