US Government Sues TikTok Over Alleged Child Data Collection

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent, violating US child privacy laws.

The DOJ has taken legal action against TikTok, alleging that the platform allowed children under 13 to create accounts without parental permission and collected extensive data on them, breaching the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). According to the DOJ, TikTok's "Kids Mode" enabled children to sign up by entering a username, but the app failed to notify parents or obtain their consent. Although kids in this mode cannot upload videos, they can view them, and TikTok allegedly collected personal information such as unique device identifiers and IP addresses.

The lawsuit highlights deficiencies in TikTok's age-gating methods. Previously, TikTok allowed users to restart the account creation process if they initially entered a birthdate indicating they were under 13. Additionally, logging in through Instagram or Google categorized accounts as "age unknown," further complicating age verification.

The DOJ claims that millions of children have used TikTok, but the exact number of violations is unclear due to TikTok's non-compliance with a 2019 injunction requiring record-keeping on COPPA compliance. The DOJ seeks to prevent future COPPA violations and impose civil penalties, which can reach up to $51,744 per violation per day under the FTC Act.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated the investigation leading to the complaint, referring it to the DOJ after finding potential violations of the FTC Act and COPPA. The complaint comes just before the DOJ is set to face TikTok in court over a new US law that could ban the app unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, spins it off.

TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek responded, stating that the company disagrees with the DOJ's claims, many of which pertain to past practices that have been addressed. Haurek emphasized TikTok's commitment to protecting children, highlighting features like default screentime limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy safeguards for minors.