The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced yesterday, Tuesday, that it has filed a complaint with the Department of Justice regarding TikTok for its potential violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The FTC clarified that it has launched a follow-up investigation to ensure that the platform complies with the terms of a consent agreement reached in 2019, as stated in a release posted on the commission's website. At that time, the agency criticized TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly, for collecting personal data from young users without justification. TikTok agreed to pay $5.7 million in restitution and committed to complying with the so-called COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), which was enacted in 1998.
The FTC indicated that its checks have given it reason to believe that TikTok and its parent company, the Chinese group ByteDance, "violated the law or are on the verge of doing so." The commission stated that it generally does not publicly discuss complaints filed with the Department of Justice, but considered it to be in the "public interest" to do so in this case.
In a message published on the platform X, TikTok expressed its disappointment that the agency chose to litigate rather than continuing to work with them to reach a reasonable solution. TikTok added, "We strongly disagree with the FTC's allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that have been misrepresented or already addressed." TikTok pointed out that it employs "strict controls" and suspends user accounts when it suspects they are younger than the minimum age for use, which is 13 years.
This statement from the FTC comes a day after The New York Times published an article by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who called on social media networks to clearly display a "preventive warning message" on their platforms to "alert to the significant risks they pose to the mental health of adolescents." During a congressional hearing in March 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Chew faced strong criticism regarding the platform's responsibility for negative impacts on the mental and physical health of young users. TikTok is facing numerous civil lawsuits from individuals who claim the platform has not provided sufficient protection for minor users.
