The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging that the app has failed to prevent minors from accessing its platform and has unlawfully gathered their personal data.
The lawsuit claims that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, breached the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing children to sign up without parental knowledge or consent. It also accuses TikTok of collecting and storing personal information from minors, including email addresses, phone numbers, and location data, and of not honoring parental requests to delete this data.
This legal action follows a 2019 settlement between TikTok and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in which TikTok agreed to comply with COPPA after being accused of illegally gathering personal information from children under 13. The Justice Department now contends that TikTok has continued to violate both the law and the 2019 court order.
Despite offering a “Kids Mode” for users under 13, the lawsuit claims that TikTok has knowingly allowed younger children to create accounts on the main platform and has collected extensive personal data without obtaining proper parental consent. The complaint was filed in a California district court.
This lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges facing TikTok, which is also involved in a court case that could lead to the app being banned in the U.S. The platform has previously been criticized for not adequately protecting young users and was fined in Europe for violating children's privacy rights.
Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began investigating TikTok for potential violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), according to sources. The lawsuit filed on Friday by the Justice Department followed a referral from the FTC.
FTC Chair Lina Khan stated on Friday that TikTok had "knowingly and repeatedly violated children's privacy," putting millions of children across the nation at risk.
In response, TikTok disputed the allegations. "We disagree with these claims, many of which are based on past practices that are either inaccurate or have been addressed," said TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes. He added that the company is committed to safeguarding children, highlighting features such as age-appropriate experiences, the proactive removal of suspected underage users, and tools like default screen time limits, Family Pairing, and additional privacy protections for minors.
However, the lawsuit contends that TikTok has not done enough to keep children under 13 off the platform. It claims that until at least late 2020, if a child was denied access after entering a birthdate showing they were under 13, TikTok did not block them from trying again with a different birthdate, even though the app was aware that the user was underage.
The suit also alleges that TikTok made it difficult for parents to request the deletion of their child's data, describing the process as "convoluted," and claims that even when parents did submit a request, TikTok often failed to honor it.
The Justice Department is seeking civil penalties and a court order to prevent future COPPA violations.
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