US government sues TikTok over alleged ‘widespread’ child privacy violations

The United States’ Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, accusing the social media company of unlawfully collecting and retaining data from children in violation of United States privacy laws.

The civil consumer protection complaint was filed on 2 August in a federal court in California, accusing TikTok of collecting a ‘wide variety’ of personal information from children who created accounts on the app dating back to 2019 through the present day.

The department also alleges that even when children created accounts in TikTok’s designated ‘Kids Mode’, the company still unlawfully collected and retained children’s email addresses and other personal information without notifying or getting consent from parents.

The alleged privacy violations ‘have resulted in millions of children under 13 using the regular TikTok app, subjecting them to extensive data collection and allowing them to interact with adult users and access adult content’, according to a statement from the Justice Department.

General Benjamin Mizer, Acting Attorney General, said in a statement: “The Department is deeply concerned that TikTok has continued to collect and retain children’s personal information despite a court order barring such conduct. With this action, the Department seeks to ensure that TikTok honours its obligation to protect children’s privacy rights and parents’ efforts to protect their children.”

Click here for more information on the action.