The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against TikTok.The lawsuit alleges that TikTok violated a children’s privacy law and a 2019 agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
This lawsuit is based on the results of an investigation conducted by the FTC against TikTok.The FTC submitted this investigative report to the Department of Justice in early 2024.
According to the FTC, the investigation found that TikTok violated the 2019 agreement and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
In a statement, the Department of Justice said TikTok collected personal details of children and failed to comply with requests to delete these details.
The statement further mentioned that since 2019, TikTok has intentionally allowed children to create accounts and share messages and short videos with adults.
The company collected these details and used them for various purposes without parental consent.
In response to the lawsuit, TikTok issued a statement.
The company claimed that it had already addressed the points raised by the Department of Justice in the past.
TikTok stated that it does not agree with the allegations, most of which have already been addressed, and it takes pride in the measures it has implemented to protect children.
The statement mentioned ongoing updates to the platform for children’s safety, including the deletion of accounts of suspected underage users.
TikTok also highlighted the introduction of various features, such as default screen time limits, family pairing, and other privacy features.
This lawsuit comes at a time when TikTok has challenged the proposed ban by the U.S. government in court.
The first hearing of TikTok’s lawsuit is scheduled for September 2024.