The Justice Department and FTC have filed a complaint against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, alleging that they obtained children’s data without parental consent. President Joe Biden’s administration is taking legal action against the social media platform for failing to ensure data privacy for children. The civil complaint, filed on Aug. 2 in the Central District of California, accuses TikTok of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and an associated FTC rule regarding data handling for children under 13.
According to the complaint, TikTok breached a 2019 court order related to similar allegations of COPPA violations. Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer expressed deep concerns about TikTok’s continued collection and retention of children’s personal information despite the court order prohibiting such actions.
The DOJ alleged that TikTok bypassed parental consent in retaining children’s personal data, such as email addresses, and failed to delete children’s accounts upon parental request. The FTC Chair, Lina Khan, emphasized that TikTok knowingly violated kids’ privacy, putting the safety of millions of children at risk.
The administration is seeking a permanent injunction and civil penalties against TikTok and ByteDance for each violation of the FTC rule. TikTok’s “Kids Mode” feature, aimed at users under 13, allowed children to create accounts without parental consent. The complaint also highlighted that TikTok’s age gate was inadequate, as younger users misrepresented their age when prompted.
This legal challenge adds to ByteDance’s existing troubles, as Washington has mandated the company to divest from TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. TikTok is contesting this requirement in court. Additionally, DOJ raised concerns about national security risks associated with TikTok’s data collection practices, warning of potential exploitation by foreign entities, particularly Beijing.
Overall, the lawsuit underscores the ongoing battle between regulators and tech companies over data privacy and protection, particularly concerning vulnerable users like children. Can you please rewrite this sentence?
Source link
