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Justice Department sues TikTok for allegedly collecting data from minors

Justice Department sues TikTok for allegedly collecting data from minors

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In a highly publicized move, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the popular social media platform of violating a law designed to protect children's online privacy. The allegations center around TikTok's failure to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under the age of 13.

The lawsuit, which was filed jointly with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a federal court in California, claims that both TikTok and its Chinese parent company Bytedance breached the provisions of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This law mandates that kid-oriented apps and websites must receive parental consent before gathering data from young users.

The DOJ also asserts that TikTok violated a previous settlement agreement reached with the FTC over similar concerns. This earlier settlement involved the app Musical.ly, which was subsequently merged with TikTok after being acquired by Bytedance.

Additionally, TikTok faces accusations of sharing children's data with third parties, specifically mentioning Facebook and an analytics company named AppsFlyer.

Keywords

Keywords:

  • Justice Department
  • TikTok
  • Children’s Online Privacy
  • COPPA
  • Parental consent
  • Bytedance
  • FTC
  • Musical.ly
  • Data sharing
  • Facebook
  • AppsFlyer

FAQ

FAQ:

  1. What is the key accusation against TikTok? TikTok is accused of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from users under the age of 13 without obtaining parental consent.

  2. Who filed the lawsuit against TikTok? The lawsuit was filed by the Justice Department along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a federal court in California.

  3. What previous settlement did TikTok allegedly violate? TikTok allegedly violated a previous settlement agreement with the FTC related to similar concerns involving the app Musical.ly, which later merged with TikTok.

  4. Which companies are mentioned as recipients of children's data shared by TikTok? TikTok is accused of sharing children's data with Facebook and an analytics company named AppsFlyer.

  5. Who are TikTok's parent company? TikTok’s parent company is Bytedance, a Chinese multinational internet technology company.

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