According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. Department of Justice is preparing a consumer protection lawsuit against ByteDance’s TikTok on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The lawsuit is reportedly focusing on allegations that TikTok violated children’s privacy rights. This focus contrasts with earlier discussions about including claims regarding TikTok misleading American users about the security of their data.
The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, indicates that the Justice Department plans to exclude part of the complaint that suggested TikTok misled American users by not disclosing that employees of its Chinese-based parent company might access their personal and financial information.
Reuters’ requests for comments were not immediately responded to by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or TikTok.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the FTC had referred a complaint to the DOJ regarding potential privacy violations involving minors by TikTok and its parent company.
In 2019, TikTok agreed to a $5.7 million settlement with the FTC over allegations that its predecessor, Musical.ly, violated the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This settlement marked the largest civil penalty ever imposed in a children’s privacy case, as reported by Variety. COPPA mandates that websites and online services targeting children obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13.
Separately, on Thursday, TikTok and ByteDance filed a request with a U.S. court to overturn a law that they argue could ban TikTok in the United States starting January 19, 2025.
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I would certainly think, if the department of Justice were honest in any sense of the word, they would be going after all the other mainstream social media platforms on the same basis, since they have long been known to suffer from that very problem. Especially Twitter and Facebook.