US sues TikTok over ‘massive-scale’ violations of privacy of children under 13
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TikTok said many of the US allegations “relate to past events and practices that are inaccurate or have been addressed”.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – The US Justice Department or DOJ filed a lawsuit on Aug 2 against TikTok and parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children’s privacy on the social media app as the Biden administration continues its crackdown on the social media site.
The US government said TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa) that requires services aimed at children to obtain parental consent to collect personal information from users under the age of 13.
The Chinese-owned short-video platform boasts around 170 million US users, and is currently fighting a new law that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US assets by Jan 19 or face a ban.
The lawsuit is the latest US action against TikTok and its Chinese parent company over fears it improperly collects vast amounts of data on Americans for the Chinese government, while influencing content in a way that could harm Americans. The suit, which was joined by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said it was aimed at putting an end “to TikTok’s unlawful massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy”.
Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said the suit “underscores the importance of divesting TikTok from Chinese Communist Party control”. He added: “We simply cannot continue to allow our adversaries to harvest vast troves of Americans’ sensitive data.”
TikTok said on Aug 2 it disagrees “with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed”. It added: “We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform.”
The DOJ said TikTok knowingly permitted children to create regular TikTok accounts, and then create and share short-form videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform. TikTok collected personal information from these children without obtaining consent from their parents.
The US alleged that for years, millions of American children under 13 have been using TikTok, and the site “has been collecting and retaining children’s personal information”.
“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country,” said FTC chairwoman Lina Khan, whose agency in June referred the case to the Justice Department.
The FTC is seeking penalties of up to US$51,744 (S$68,680) per violation per day from TikTok for improperly collecting data, which could theoretically total billions of dollars if TikTok were found liable.
Reuters in 2020 first reported the FTC and Justice Department were looking into allegations the popular social media app failed to live up to a 2019 agreement aimed at protecting children’s privacy.
The company in 2023 faced fines from the European Union and Britain over its handling of children’s data.
On July 30, the US Senate passed a Bill that would extend Coppa to cover teenagers up to age 17, ban targeted advertising to children and teens, and give parents and children the option to delete their information from social media platforms.
The Bill would need to pass in the Republican-controlled House, currently in recess until September, to become law. REUTERS
