TikTok in hot water with US Justice Department for breaching Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

TikTok app store icon
(Image credit: Joe Raedle / Getty)

Video-sharing platform TikTok is under fire, this time from the US government. While the app still faces a potential ban in the United States, it's now being sued by the country's Justice Department.

TikTok and parent company ByteDance were sued yesterday for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (or COPPA), which makes it illegal to collect and use data from children under the age of 13.

According to the lawsuit (viewable as a PDF), TikTok has allowed children to create accounts on the platform since 2019, and this means they've been able to create videos, comment, and interact with others (including adults) within the app.

While TikTok does have a Kids Mode, the company is alleged to have collected data from users within that section of the app, too.

TikTok accused of storing children's data

The Department of Justice says the app and its parent company have employed "extensive data collection" for millions of users under the age of 13, and retained personal information from them without parental consent.

The lawsuit also says users under 13 have been able to "interact with adult users and access adult content", while also making it difficult for parents to delete their child's data.

The DoJ is seeking penalties against each violation of the COPPA, as well as legislation to prevent TikTok collecting further data from children.

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Lloyd Coombes
Contributor

Lloyd Coombes is a freelance writer with a specialism in Apple tech. From his first, hand-me-down iMac, he’s been working with Apple products for over a decade, and while he loves his iPhone and Mac, the iPad will always have his heart for reasons he still can’t quite fathom. Since moving from blogging to writing professionally, Lloyd’s work can be found at TechRadar, Macworld, TechAdvisor and plenty more. He’s also the Editor in Chief at GGRecon.com, and on the rare occasion he’s not writing you’ll find him spending time with his son, or working hard at the gym (while wearing an Apple Watch, naturally). You can find him on Twitter @lloydcoombes.