TikTok child privacy complaint referred to US justice department

The Federal Trade Commission said it had “uncovered reason to believe” that TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance “are violating or are about to violate the law” in a complaint referred to the US justice department for further action.

The FTC first began investigating TikTok over a possible violation of a law governing the online privacy of children several years ago. It said on Tuesday that it had also begun investigating potential breaches of the FTC Act, which outlaws “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” by businesses.

“Our investigation found reason to believe that TikTok is violating or about to violate the FTC Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,” FTC chair Lina Khan wrote on X, the social media platform.

In its statement, the FTC added that while it did not typically make public its decisions to refer complaints, it had determined that doing so was “in the public interest” in this case.

The latest allegations mark another battlefront for TikTok as it faces intense scrutiny from lawmakers globally over privacy and security concerns. In April, US President Joe Biden signed a new law requiring the short-form video app to divest from its parent by January 2025 or face a countrywide ban, citing fears that the Chinese Communist party could use data on the app’s 170mn US users for espionage or other purposes, such as spreading propaganda.

In response, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the US government with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, claiming the law was unconstitutional, and breached First Amendment free speech rights. A hearing is scheduled for September.

In 2019, as it began to grow in traction among teenagers in the west, TikTok was fined $5.7mn by the FTC for illegally collecting children’s data. Following a review of its compliance with that settlement, the FTC began further investigations into the company, the agency said on Tuesday.

In a statement in response to the FTC, TikTok said that the company was “disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution”, adding that it had been working with the FTC “for more than a year” to address its concerns.

“We strongly disagree with the FTC’s allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed,” it said, adding it was “deeply committed” to child privacy, had stringent safeguards and removed underage users, for example.