TikTok is facing additional legal challenges in the United States. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the social media platform and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, accusing them of failing to protect children’s privacy.
The DOJ alleged that TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The law requires services targeting children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal data from users under 13. The lawsuit describes the issue as a “massive-scale invasion of children’s privacy.”
According to the DOJ, TikTok allowed children to create standard accounts, enabling them to post and share videos and messages while collecting personal data without parental approval. The DOJ claims TikTok collected and retained personal information of millions of American children under 13 for several years.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) joined the DOJ in the lawsuit.
“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,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said.
The FTC is seeking fines that could reach around $50,000 per violation per day, potentially amounting to billions of dollars in penalties if TikTok is found liable. TikTok disputed these claims.
“We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed,” a TikTok spokesperson said on Fox Business. “We offer age-appropriate experiences with strong safeguards, actively remove suspected underage users, and have introduced features like default screen time limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors.”
Meanwhile, Congress is considering a bill to extend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act to include teenagers up to age 17. This proposed legislation also aims to ban targeted ads for children and teens. It would also give parents and minors the option to delete their data from social media platforms. The Senate passed the bill last week by a vote of 91 to 3.
The bill received bipartisan support similar to that of a bill passed earlier this year requiring ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets or face a ban in the U.S. if not completed by 2025.