The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped up scrutiny of TikTok, suing the video-sharing platform for alleged repeated violations of children’s privacy laws.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in conjunction with Federal Trade CommissionIn a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on August 2, it was stated that TikTok knowingly allowed children to create accounts on the platform and interact with adults, collecting personal information without parental consent. The department said this violated Children’s Internet Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
COPPA, which took effect in 2000, prohibits websites and online services from knowingly collecting, using or disclosing the personal information of children under the age of 13 without prior notification and parental consent. It also requires them to delete personal information collected from children upon parental request. The lawsuit accuses TikTok of violating COPPA since at least 2019.
“In 2019, the government prosecuted TikTok’s predecessor, music network, for violating COPPA, the defendants have since been subject to a court order requiring them to take specific steps to comply with COPPA,” the Department of Justice said in a statement on Friday (August 2). TikTok acquired Musical.ly in late 2017. $5.7 million To settle Federal Trade Commission charges that Musical.ly “unlawfully collected children’s personal information.”
However, the FTC said in June that it found more evidence that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance may have violated COPPA again, prompting the commission to refer the complaint to the DOJ.
“This action is necessary to prevent repeat offenders and large-scale defendants from collecting and using young children’s private information without parental consent or control.”
Brian M. BoyntonMinistry of Justice
Recently, FTC Chairman Lena M. Khan “TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated children’s privacy and threatened the safety of millions of children across the country. The FTC will continue to use its full authority to protect children online, especially as companies deploy increasingly sophisticated digital tools to spy on children and from when profiting from their data.
The two agencies’ complaint alleges that even in “Kids Mode,” which is said to be a safer version of the app, TikTok collects personal information such as email addresses without parental consent. Additionally, when parents try to delete their children’s accounts, TikTok often fails to honor those requests, the lawsuit alleges.
principal deputy assistant attorney general Brian M. Boynton“The Department of Justice is committed to preserving the ability of parents to protect the privacy of their children,” said the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This action is necessary to prevent repeat and large-scale defendants from collecting and using information without parental consent or control.” Private information about young children.
“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated children’s privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country. The FTC will continue to use its full authority to protect children online.
Lina M. Khan, Federal Trade Commission
The Acting Deputy Attorney General of the Department of Justice further emphasized the seriousness of the alleged violations. Benjamin C. Mizer “The Department is deeply concerned that TikTok continues to collect and retain children’s personal information despite a court order prohibiting such conduct. Through this action, the Department aims to ensure that TikTok lives up to its obligations to protect children’s privacy rights,” the department said. obligations and the efforts parents make to protect their children.
The lawsuit, which seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief, coincides with recent efforts to strengthen children’s online privacy protections. Just days before the lawsuit was filed, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to expand COPPA coverage to youth under 17. The bill would also give parents and teenagers more control over their online data and could ban targeted advertising to younger people.
The Senate also passed Children’s Internet Safety Act (KOSA), provides children and parents with tools and transparency to protect children from harm online.
The latest moves by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission mark an escalation in the U.S. government’s efforts to regulate TikTok. Just last month, the U.S. Department of Justice defended a new law that would force TikTok parent company ByteDance to divest its stake in the platform or face a ban in the country. The Justice Department argued in a filing with a U.S. appeals court that TikTok poses a significant national security risk, citing concerns that the app could be used by the Chinese government to collect sensitive information about Americans and spread propaganda.
The filing was in response to a lawsuit filed by TikTok in May that called the new law “unconstitutional.”
“For the first time ever, Congress has enacted a law that imposes a permanent, nationwide ban on a single, designated speech platform and prohibits every American from participating in unique online communities of more than 1 billion people around the world,” TikTok said. then.
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