US sues TikTok alleging illegal collection of children’s data

FILE – The TikTok logo is displayed on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. TikTok is gearing up for a legal fight against a US law that would force the social media platform to break ties with its China-based parent company or face a ban. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

LOS ANGELES – The US Department of Justice sued TikTok and its China-based owner Friday, alleging in federal court the popular Culver City-based app violated a child privacy law by collecting personal information from millions of Americans under the age of 13.

For years, the company has allowed children under 13 to create and use TikTok accounts without their parents’ knowledge or consent, collected extensive data, and failed to comply with parents’ requests to delete their children’s accounts and personal information, according to the complaint.

The DOJ alleges TikTok violates a federal statute and regulations that protect children’s privacy and safety online, and defies a 2019 court order resolving a similar lawsuit in LA federal court against TikTok’s predecessor.

Among other things, the company was fined $5.7 million and ordered to keep records demonstrating its compliance with federal regulations, according to court papers.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a separate action, President Joe Biden signed a bill in April that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban. The legislation gives TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, potentially up to a year to sell the video-based social media platform to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban from app stores in the United States and hosting services that support it.

In a video posted to TikTok, the company’s chief executive, Singaporean businessman Shou Chew, told users in April, “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.”

According to the lawsuit, TikTok has more than 170 million users in the U.S., including many children and teens. In 2022, two-thirds of US teens reported using TikTok, including about 61% of teens aged 13 or 14. By late 2023, nearly half of US teens reported using TikTok multiple times a day, the lawsuit states.

The complaint contends that TikTok allows children to bypass or evade the platform’s “age gate,” which asks for birthday information, and collects personal information even from users who identify themselves as children. (CNS)