Justice Dept. files lawsuit against TikTok over children’s privacy law violations

TikTok children’s privacy lawsuit overview: 

• Who: The U.S. Department of Justice sued TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.
• Why: The Justice Department alleges the companies have violated children’s privacy laws.
• Where: The TikTok children’s privacy lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.

The U.S. Department of Justice has slapped TikTok and its parent company ByteDance with a  lawsuit claiming the companies violated laws to protect children’s privacy online.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed the lawsuit against TikTok Inc., ByteDance Ltd. and their affiliates on Aug. 1 in a California federal court, alleging violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 

The lawsuit alleges that the companies have collected and stored children’s data — including their email addresses — from the popular TikTok app, despite a court order banning it from doing so.

“The Department is deeply concerned that TikTok has continued to collect and retain children’s personal information despite a court order barring such conduct,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer. 

“With this action, the Department seeks to ensure that TikTok honors its obligation to protect children’s privacy rights and parents’ efforts to protect their children,” the Justice Department said.

Alleged breach of court order

COPPA prohibits website operators from knowingly collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13, unless they provide notice to and obtain consent from those children’s parents. 

It also requires website operators to delete personal information collected from children at their parents’ request, the justice department says.

In 2019, the government sued TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, for COPPA violations, and since then, TikTok has been subject to a court order requiring it to undertake specific measures to comply with the law.

However, since then, TikTok has continued to knowingly permit children to create regular TikTok accounts and to create, view, and share short-form videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform. 

At the same time, the companies collected and retained a wide variety of personal information from these children without notifying or obtaining consent from their parents, the lawsuit states, even for accounts that were created for children under 13.

Millions of children affected, class action says

When parents discovered their children’s accounts and asked TikTok to delete them and the information in them, the company frequently failed to do so, the lawsuit states. 

“The defendants also had deficient and ineffectual internal policies and processes for identifying and deleting TikTok accounts created by children.”

The justice department says the alleged COPPA 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. The complaint seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has signed a bill requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the United States from January 2025, which the company is challenging in court. 

What do you think of this TikTok children’s privacy lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

The government is represented by Brian M. Boynton, Arun G. Rao, Amanda N. Liskamm, Lisa K. Hsiao, Rachael L. Doud, Zachary A. Dietert, Benjamin A. Cornfield and Marcus P. Smith of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division and Jonathan W. Ware, Iris Micklavzina, Sarah Choi and Michael Sherling of the Federal Trade Commission. 

The TikTok children’s privacy lawsuit is United States of America v. ByteDance Ltd., Case No. 2:24-cv-06535, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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