DOJ lawsuit alleges TikTok ignored order to enhance COPPA compliance
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-08-07T15:56:00
TikTok is in hot water with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over widespread failures to comply with a 2019 consent order to enhance compliance with children’s privacy laws.
ByteDance, the parent company of the popular social media platform, violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data of children under 13 without a parent’s permission, the DOJ alleged in a press release Friday.
TikTok also allowed children to create and view videos created by adults and message them, the DOJ alleged in its complaint, filed against ByteDance on behalf of the FTC, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In 2019, the DOJ sued TikTok for similar issues, with the company since under court order to enhance COPPA compliance.
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