The ongoing battle between the US government and TikTok has reached a new level, and this time it’s about children’s online privacy. The Department of Justice has sued the social media platform, alleging that TikTok violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
TikTok allegedly endangers children online
The lawsuit was filed over allegations that TikTok collected and stored data from children without parental consent. COPPA requires social media platforms and other websites to obtain parental consent when collecting personal information from children under 13.
“This action is necessary to stop large-scale and repeat offenders from collecting and using children’s private information without parental consent or control,” said Brian M. Boynton, Chief of the US Department of Justice’s Civil Division. This lawsuit follows the FTC’s 2019 lawsuit against Musical.ly, the predecessor to TikTok, for COPPA violations. At the time, Musical.ly settled the charges by paying $5.7 million.
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“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated children’s privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children nationwide,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan. The FTC said it will continue to use the full extent of its authority to protect children online.
What is TikTok’s response?
In response to these accusations, a TikTok spokesperson sent the following statement to Mashable: “We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices and are not based in fact or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children and will continue to update and improve the platform. To that end, we are providing age-appropriate experiences, proactively removing suspicious underage users, and voluntarily launching features like default screen time limits, Family Matching, and additional privacy protections for minors.”
