TikTok and its parent company ByteDance are facing a new lawsuit from President Joe Biden’s administration. The lawsuit alleges that they failed to ensure data privacy for children using the social media platform. The civil complaint was filed on August 2 by both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice in the Central District of California. According to the complaint, TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) and an associated FTC rule regarding data from children under 13 years old.
The administration claims that TikTok breached a 2019 court order to resolve a similar lawsuit involving COPPA violations. Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer expressed concern in a press release, stating that TikTok continued to collect and retain children’s personal information despite being ordered not to do so.
The Department of Justice alleged that TikTok bypassed parental consent when retaining children’s personal information, such as email addresses, and ignored parents’ requests to delete their children’s accounts. It also stated that TikTok had inadequate internal policies for identifying and deleting accounts belonging to children.
FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized the importance of protecting children online, especially as companies use advanced digital tools to profit from their data. A spokesperson for TikTok denied these allegations, claiming that many were factually inaccurate or had already been addressed.
The administration is seeking a permanent injunction against ByteDance and TikTok entities involved in each violation of the FTC rule, along with civil penalties. The defendants could face penalties totaling around $51,000 per violation assessed after January 10, 2024.
This lawsuit adds another challenge for ByteDance following Washington’s requirement for them to divest from TikTok or face a ban in the United States. In response, TikTok has challenged this requirement in court by questioning its constitutionality. The Department of Justice argued against this challenge by raising national security concerns related to Beijing potentially gaining control over sensitive user data from TikTok’s American users.