US Government Files Major Lawsuit Against TikTok Over Child Privacy Violations
The US government has launched a new lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the social media giant of unlawfully collecting data on children and failing to respond adequately to parental requests to delete their children’s accounts. The Department of Justice claims this constitutes a “massive-scale” invasion of child privacy, violating regulations requiring parental consent for users under 13.
The Department of Justice’s lawsuit against TikTok highlights alleged violations of child privacy laws by the social media platform and its parent company, ByteDance. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok has been collecting data on underage users without proper parental consent and has been slow or unresponsive to requests for account deletions. This follows a similar case from 2019, marking TikTok as a “repeat offender.”
TikTok has contested these claims, asserting that it is “proud” of its measures to protect children on the platform. The company notes it has proactively removed underage users and implemented protections, including default screen-time limits and enhanced privacy features for minors.
“We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed,” said a TikTok spokesperson. The company remains committed to continually updating and improving its platform to ensure child safety.
The lawsuit adds pressure on TikTok and ByteDance, already under scrutiny from US authorities who are considering legislation that could ban the app. The complaint reveals that a significant number of underage accounts remained active despite parental requests for deletion, with only a few seconds allocated to moderators to review flagged accounts.
“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,” stated Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
TikTok, with over 1 billion global users and more than 170 million in the US, remains a dominant social media platform, particularly among teenagers. Pew Research data indicates that over 60% of US teens aged 13-17 use TikTok, with more than half engaging with the app daily.
The lawsuit seeks to end TikTok’s alleged unlawful practices and enforce penalties for each violation. The company has faced similar fines in the UK and Europe for related issues.
Source: The BBC
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