The US government has accused TikTok of failing to adequately screen for child accounts and obstructing parents’ efforts to delete them, leading to a lawsuit over privacy violations.
Previous Fines and Ongoing Issues
TikTok has already faced fines in the UK and Europe for similar privacy concerns.
Lawsuit Details
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a lawsuit against TikTok, claiming the company unlawfully collects data from children and doesn’t respond properly when parents try to delete their children’s accounts. According to the DOJ, TikTok’s practices constitute a “massive-scale” invasion of child privacy, violating laws that mandate parental consent for collecting data from children under 13.
Officials described TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, as “repeat offenders,” referencing a similar case from 2019. Despite this, TikTok disputes these claims, asserting that it has taken significant steps to protect children’s privacy.
“We disagree with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We are proud of our efforts to protect children, and we will continue to update and improve the platform,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
Allegations of Inadequate Screening
The lawsuit accuses TikTok of having “deficient” methods for screening child accounts and making it difficult for parents to delete these accounts. A review of 1,700 parental requests to delete accounts, submitted between 2019 and 2020, showed that 30% of these accounts were still active by November 2021. Moderators, tasked with identifying underage users, had limited access to user videos and only a few seconds to determine a user’s age.
US Government’s Demands
The DOJ is asking the court to halt TikTok’s practices and impose penalties for each violation.
“This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control,” said Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Popularity and Impact
TikTok remains one of the most popular social media platforms globally, boasting over 1 billion users, with more than 170 million in the US. Pew Research surveys indicate that over 60% of US teens aged 13-17 use TikTok, with more than half using it daily.
The lawsuit aims to end what the US government calls TikTok’s “unlawful massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy.”