TikTok hit with federal lawsuit over 'massive-scale' violations of children's privacy

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance over the company's alleged failure to protect children's privacy on the social media platform.

The DOJ argues that TikTok violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires services aimed at children to obtain parental consent before the platform can collect personal information on users under the age of 13.

The suit, which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) joined following its own investigation of TikTok that it referred to the DOJ, aims to put an end "to TikTok's unlawful massive-scale invasions of children's privacy."

According to the DOJ, TikTok knowingly permitted children to create regular TikTok accounts, which allowed them to 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.

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The government alleges that for years, millions of American children under 13 have been using TikTok and the company "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 Chair Lina Khan. 

Her agency is seeking penalties of up to $51,744 per violation per day from TikTok over its improper data collection, which could theoretically result in billions of dollars of penalties if TikTok is found liable.

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TikTok pushed back on the lawsuit's claims, arguing that the suit refers to past practices that have since been changed and that the company has updated its privacy policies to protect children.

"We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed," a TikTok spokesperson told FOX Business. 

"We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform. To that end, we offer age-appropriate experiences with stringent safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched features such as default screentime limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors," the company added.

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ByteDance is facing a Jan. 19, 2025, deadline to sell its U.S. assets or the short-form video platform will face a ban in the U.S. TikTok and ByteDance have filed a separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law, which is pending in federal court.

Congress is considering a bill that would extend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act to cover teenagers up to age 17, as well as banning targeted ads to kids and teens while giving parents and children the option to delete their information from social media platforms.

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The bill passed the Senate on Tuesday on a bipartisan 91-3 vote and would need to pass the House of Representatives, which is currently in recess until September, and be signed by President Biden to become law.

Reuters contributed to this report.