The long running war between TikTok and the US government gained a new chapter today as the Department of Justice sued TikTok and the social media platform's China-based owner Bytedance.
As reported by The Washington Post, the DOJ is alleging that the popular video app violated children's privacy law because it was collecting data on Americans younger than 13.
In their legal complaint, the Justice Department stated that the app made it too easy for kids under 13 to create and use TikTok accounts. "For years, Defendants have knowingly allowed children under 13 to create and use TikTok accounts without their parents’ knowledge or consent, have collected extensive data from those children, and have failed to comply with parents’ requests to delete their children’s accounts and personal information."
This was all done in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the DOJ said.
Apparently, it is quite easy for children to create TikTok accounts by creating separate accounts on Google and Instagram, enabling them to get past TikTok's "age gates."
A TikTok spokesperson told the Washington Post, "We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed.” The company claims that it proactively removes suspected underage users and has invested in screen-time limits, parental controls and other privacy protections for young users.
This isn't the first time that TikTok has been sued for this exact violation. Before becoming TikTok, the app was known as Music.ly with a focus mostly on lip-syncing, like how TikTok was in its early days. According to the filing, Music.ly was charged $5.7 million in 2019 and ordered to delete children's data and enact protective changes. The DOJ alleges that TikTok immediately reverted to violating COPPA after that court order.
This also isn't even the first time in the last year that TikTok has been in the crosshairs of the US government for "child safety violations." In late 2023, 42 States sued many of the largest social media platform companies including Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Snapchat, ByteDance and Alphabet (YouTube) claiming that social media does mental damange to minors. That lawsuit is also ongoing.
This case is not related to the ongoing battle between TikTok and the US government over the TikTok ban that President Joe Biden signed into law earlier this year. That process started way back in 2020 when then-President Trump's administration attempted to executive order a ban that was pushed back.
Of course, TikTok challenged the ban, arguing that it violates the first amendment. Last week, the Washington Post reported that the DOJ responded that Americans have no "First Amendment right to TikTok." The lawsuit's status is pending as it wends its way through the US court system, a process that can take years.
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