TikTok flagrantly violated privacy laws for children under 13: US

The U.S. government filed a lawsuit against TikTok on Friday, alleging a privacy violation that exposed millions of children to data collection and adult content.

The lawsuit accuses the company of repeatedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

The U.S. government alleges that TikTok knowingly collected data from millions of children under the age of 13 and allowed them to interact with adults and view adult content.

The lawsuit, which stemmed from an FTC investigation, accuses TikTok of knowingly allowing children to create accounts and interact with adults on the platform since 2019.

The lawsuit alleges that the company collected and stored personal information from children without notifying their parents or obtaining their consent.

DOJ says kids mode does not require parental consent

TikTok offers a “Kids Mode” for users under 13 that limits interactions by restricting messages and the ability to create and upload videos. However, the lawsuit claims that the company fails to notify parents or obtain consent for these restricted accounts. The DOJ also alleges that TikTok makes it easy for users to bypass age restrictions when creating an account.

“For years, defendants knowingly allowed children under the age of 13 to create and use TikTok accounts without their parents’ knowledge or consent, collected extensive data from those children, and failed to comply with parents’ requests to delete their children’s accounts and personal information,” the 31-page civil complaint reads. CBS News reported.

According to the department, the documents allege that TikTok collects information about children with restricted accounts, including “app activity data, device information, mobile carrier information, and app information,” which it combines with persistent identifiers to create profiles of children.

Additionally, the files note that TikTok moderators spend an average of only five to seven seconds checking whether profiles belong to children.

The lawsuit alleged that for years, millions of American children under the age of 13 had been using TikTok and that the defendants had been collecting and storing their personal information. The department also alleged that TikTok shared that data with third parties without notifying parents.

The government seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting future violations of children’s privacy laws, civil penalties for past violations, and any other relief the court deems appropriate.

TikTok disputes the allegations, calling them outdated

In response, TikTok disagreed with the accusations, commenting that many of them were based on outdated or inaccurate information.

“We disagree with these accusations, many of which refer to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have already been discussed,” TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek said in a statement to USA TODAY.

The company further adds that it offers age-appropriate services with stringent security measures, proactively removes suspected underage users and has voluntarily launched features such as default screen time limits, family pairing and additional privacy safeguards for minors, according to the statement.

The latest lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges TikTok has faced. In April, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by January or face a ban. The government says TikTok’s Chinese ownership could give the Chinese government access to the confidential data of 170 million Americans, posing a national security risk.