TikTok is facing allegations it collected children’s private information and allowed children younger than 13 to register for the site, according to a new lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
The civil suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against both TikTok Inc. and its owner, ByteDance, for allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
The law says companies cannot gather, use or disclose information from children under age 13, unless parents consent. Parents can also ask that private information about children be deleted.
The Justice Department says TikTok did not delete accounts for young children when asked and did not adequately protect their private information.
“The Department is deeply concerned that TikTok has continued to collect and retain children’s personal information despite a court order barring such conduct,” said Benjamin C. Mizer, the acting associate attorney general. “With this action, the Department seeks to ensure that TikTok honors its obligation to protect children’s privacy rights and parents’ efforts to protect their children.”
TikTok ban caught up in court
The government has previously accused the popular app of being a national security concern. In April, Congress passed a law that required TikTok’s owner, Chinese technology company ByteDance, to sell TikTok by January, otherwise it would be banned in U.S. app stores and on hosting services.
“Beyond the immediate privacy implications, there are fears that TikTok could be leveraged as a tool for misinformation campaigns and data collection by foreign actors, particularly the Chinese government,” Lisa Plaggemier, executive director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance, said in a statement at the time the bill was passed.
TikTok and ByteDance then sued the government to try to stop the forced sale on First Amendment grounds. “Congress has made a law curtailing massive amounts of protected speech,” the suit claimed.