DOJ sues TikTok in LA, accusing the company of illegally collecting children's data

TikTok fined $2.4 million

TikTok was fined for not providing accurate and specific safety data.

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its China-based owner ByteDance, alleging in federal court that the popular Culver City-based app violated child privacy laws by collecting personal information from millions of Americans under the age of 13.

According to the complaint, TikTok has, for years, allowed children under 13 to create and use accounts without their parents' knowledge or consent. The app collected extensive data from these young users and failed to comply with parental requests to delete their children’s accounts and personal information.

The DOJ asserts that TikTok’s practices violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and its regulations, which are designed to protect children's privacy and safety online. The suit further claims that TikTok defied a 2019 court order stemming from a similar lawsuit in L.A. federal court against its predecessor, Musical.ly. That order included a $5.7 million fine and mandated TikTok to keep records demonstrating compliance with federal regulations.

In addition to the federal lawsuit, President Joe Biden signed a bill in April that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban. The legislation gives ByteDance potentially up to a year to sell the video-based social media platform to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban from U.S. app stores and hosting services.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, in April, the company's chief executive, Shou Chew, reassured users in a video posted to TikTok, saying, "Rest assured, we aren't going anywhere."

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President Joe Biden signed into law a potential ban on TikTok as part of a long-awaited foreign aid package on Wednesday.

The lawsuit highlights that TikTok has over 170 million users in the U.S., including many children and teens. In 2022, two-thirds of U.S. teens reported using TikTok, with about 61% of users aged 13 or 14. By late 2023, nearly half of U.S. teens reported using TikTok multiple times a day.

The complaint contends that TikTok allows children to bypass or evade the platform’s "age gate," which requests birthday information, and collects personal information even from users who identify themselves as children.

CNS contributed to this report.