US sues TikTok for violating children's privacy

The US Department of Justice has officially accused TikTok and its parent company ByteDance of seriously violating the privacy rights of millions of American children. According to the lawsuit, this short video sharing platform illegally collected personal information of users under 13 years old, a clear violation of the provisions of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The Chinese-owned short video platform has about 170 million users in the US and is fighting a new law that would force ByteDance to sell off TikTok's US assets by January 19 or face a ban.

The lawsuit is the latest US action against TikTok and its Chinese parent company over concerns the company illegally collects vast amounts of data on Americans for the Chinese government, while also influencing content in ways that could harm Americans.

The lawsuit, which is being joined by the Federal Trade Commission, says it aims to end TikTok's massive and illegal invasion of children's privacy.

Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the US Energy and Commerce Committee, said the lawsuit “underscores the importance of separating TikTok from the control of the Chinese government. We simply cannot continue to allow our adversaries to collect vast amounts of sensitive American data.”

TikTok said on August 2 that it "disagrees with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been resolved. We are proud of our efforts to protect children and will continue to update and improve the platform."

The Justice Department said TikTok knowingly allowed children to create regular TikTok accounts, then create and share videos and short messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform. TikTok collected personal information from these children without their parents' consent.

The US alleges that millions of American children under 13 have used TikTok for years and that the site "collected and retained children's personal information".

"TikTok has deliberately and repeatedly violated children's privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country," said US Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan, who referred the case to the Justice Department in June.

The US Federal Trade Commission is asking TikTok to pay fines of up to $51,744 per violation per day for improper data collection, which could theoretically amount to billions of dollars if TikTok is found to be at fault.

Earlier in 2020, Reuters news agency first reported that the US Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department were investigating allegations that the popular social media app had failed to meet a 2019 agreement to protect children's privacy.

Last year, the company faced fines from the European Union and the UK over its handling of children's data.

On July 30, the US Senate passed a bill that would expand the COPPA act to apply to teenagers up to 17 years old, ban advertising targeting children and teenagers, and allow parents and children to delete their information from social media platforms.

The bill must now pass the final hurdle of the House of Representatives, which is adjourned until September. If passed by the House, it will officially become law.

In another move, on August 2, a group of 21 states and more than 50 US lawmakers backed the Justice Department's defense of a law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok's US assets by January 19 or face a ban.

"TikTok is a threat to national security and consumer privacy," said a court filing led by the attorneys general of Montana and Virginia. "Allowing TikTok to operate in the United States without severing ties with the Chinese government would expose Americans to the risk of China accessing and exploiting their data."