US Justice Department Slaps TikTok With Lawsuit Over Alleged Child Privacy Violations

The U.S. government is suing TikTok over a string of privacy violations relating to children. According to court papers filed by the U.S. Justice Department in California, the Chinese-owned app has violated both the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and an agreement it forged with the American government back in 2019. If the court finds in the government's favor, TikTok's parent company ByteDance which was directly named in the filing, will likely be hit with a string of fines. In terms of an exact offense, prosecutors say that TikTok knowingly allowed users under the age of 13 to create accounts and use its platform. The video-based app also ignored parents' requests to close their children's accounts and ignored a promise to notify parents and remove data from accounts owned by children under 13.

In a statement, acting assistant attorney general Benjamin C. Mizer says: "With this action, the Department seeks to ensure that TikTok honors its obligation to protect children's privacy rights and parents' efforts to protect their children."

This is not the first time TikTok has found itself in legal trouble over child protection issues. It has also repeatedly faced challenges from the U.S. Government over its relationship with Chinese authorities and the potential national security threat that represents. While this case and similar legal troubles could result in financial penalties, national security concerns could potentially see the app banned in the U.S. at some point in the future.

Montana became the first U.S. state to ban TikTok back in 2023, and the U.S. is playing around with several pieces of legislation that could see the app banned on a federal level. The main concern cited is the app's relationship to the Chinese government, and the national security threats that poses. This includes what happens with the data that TikTok collects on its users, and the way its algorithm could be used to push content that could sway public opinion or influence elections. TikTok is also banned on any devices used by U.S. Government employees, with few exceptions.

A direct ban hasn't happened yet but will likely happen very soon. In April 2024, President Biden signed an act which gave TikTok's parent company ByteDance a year to sell off its video-based app. If the app isn't sold in that time frame, then we could see a formal TikTok ban in 2025. With that being said, there is pressure from various civil rights groups, and legal challenges from TikTok itself, aiming to overturn the proposed ban.

As for what is stopping people simply getting around such a ban with a VPN or similar tools, the United States is proposing legislation preventing that kind of thing too. The 2023 RESTRICT Act threatens anyone accessing an app banned in the United States with up to 20 years in prison. Legislators claim such a sentence would only be handed out when the apps are being used in a way that directly threatens national security, but it could also be used to crack down on those accessing apps like TikTok should the bill ever be signed into law and a ban on the Chinese app eventually go ahead.