US government files lawsuit against Chinese-owned TikTok for allegedly violating child privacy

"The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against TikTok Inc., ByteDance Ltd., and their affiliates (together, TikTok) for violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and its implementing regulations (COPPA) in connection with the popular TikTok app," the US Justice Department said in a statement.

COPPA prohibits website operators from knowingly collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13, unless they provide notice to and obtain consent from those children’s parents.

It also requires website operators to delete personal information collected from children at their parents’ request. In 2019, the government sued TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, for COPPA violations, and since then the defendants have been subject to a court order requiring them to undertake specific measures to comply with COPPA.

According to the complaint, from 2019 to the present, TikTok knowingly permitted children to create regular TikTok accounts and to create, view, and share short-form videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform.

The defendants collected and retained a wide variety of personal information from these children without notifying or obtaining consent from their parents.

"Even for accounts that were created in 'Kids Mode' (a pared-back version of TikTok intended for children under 13), the defendants unlawfully collected and retained children’s email addresses and other types of personal information," the statement said.

"Further, when parents discovered their children’s accounts and asked the defendants to delete the accounts and information in them, the defendants frequently failed to honor those requests," the department said in its statement.

The defendants also had deficient and ineffectual internal policies and processes for identifying and deleting TikTok accounts created by children. 

The defendants engaged in the above-described conduct despite being subject to a court order barring them from violating COPPA and imposing measures designed to ensure their compliance.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.

The defendants’ COPPA violations have resulted in millions of children under 13 using the regular TikTok app, subjecting them to extensive data collection and allowing them to interact with adult users and access adult content.

The complaint seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief.

“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 Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “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.”

“The Justice Department is committed to upholding parents’ ability to protect their children’s privacy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control.”

“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC will continue to use the full scope of its authorities to protect children online — especially as firms deploy increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil kids and profit from their data.”