The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) have filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, alleging violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA requires digital platforms to notify and obtain parental consent before collecting and using personal data from children under 13.
Background and Allegations
The FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection issued a press release on Friday, August 2, claiming TikTok and ByteDance were aware of COPPA’s requirements but allowed millions of children under 13 to use their platform for years. This allegation comes despite a 2019 settlement with the FTC over similar COPPA violations, in which TikTok agreed to pay $5.7 million and implement measures to prevent children under 13 from signing up.
TikTok reportedly maintained accounts of children under 13 unless the child explicitly admitted their age and met other strict conditions. Human reviewers at TikTok allegedly spent only five to seven seconds reviewing each account to determine if it belonged to a child. The FTC further alleges that TikTok and ByteDance used data from underage users for targeted advertising, even after employees raised concerns. The company allowed sign-ups with third-party accounts, like Google and Instagram, without verifying users’ ages.
TikTok Kids Mode
The FTC also criticized TikTok Kids Mode, intended to be more COPPA-compliant. The FTC claims Kids Mode collected more data than necessary, including users’ in-app activities and identifiers, which were used to build profiles and shared with third parties. When parents requested the deletion of their children’s accounts, TikTok often made the process difficult and frequently failed to comply.
FTC Chair Lina Khan stated, “TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country. 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.”
In response, TikTok disagreed with the allegations. The company stated, “We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform. To that end, we offer age-appropriate experiences with stringent safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched features such as default screen time limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors.”
Legal and Financial Consequences
The lawsuit proposes civil penalties of up to $51,744 per violation per day and a permanent injunction to prevent future COPPA violations. This legal action comes at a challenging time for TikTok, as the company is scheduled to face off with the Justice Department in federal court next month over a law that seeks to force ByteDance to sell the app or face a U.S. ban.
The lawsuit stems from an earlier FTC investigation, which was referred to the DoJ earlier this year. The FTC had been examining whether TikTok violated the terms of a previous privacy settlement with Musical.ly, which ByteDance acquired before launching TikTok. The investigation concluded that TikTok “flagrantly” violated both the 2019 settlement and COPPA.
From 2019 to the present, TikTok allegedly allowed children to create regular accounts, interact with adults, and share videos and messages. The defendants collected and retained a variety of personal information without notifying or obtaining parental consent.
Even in “Kids Mode,” TikTok unlawfully collected and retained children’s email addresses and other personal information. When parents requested account deletions, TikTok often failed to honor these requests. The company also had inadequate policies and processes for identifying and deleting accounts created by children.
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