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TikTok’s Practices Endangered Children’s Safety, US Alleges in Lawsuit

Aug 3: The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging that the social media platform endangered children’s safety by illegally collecting their personal information and allowing inappropriate interactions between minors and adults. The lawsuit claims that TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by failing to comply with previous court orders and by maintaining deficient policies for identifying and deleting accounts created by children.

The complaint asserts that TikTok, from 2019 onwards, permitted children to create regular accounts and engage with adult users, collecting sensitive personal information such as email addresses without parental consent. Additionally, the platform allegedly failed to honor parents’ requests to delete their children’s data. The DOJ’s action follows a history of privacy violations by TikTok, including a previous lawsuit against its predecessor, Musical.ly, for similar infractions.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan emphasized that TikTok’s repeated violations threaten the safety of millions of children, necessitating strict legal action. The lawsuit aims to enforce compliance with COPPA and ensure stronger protections for children’s online privacy.

TikTok has responded, claiming the allegations are based on outdated practices and asserting their ongoing efforts to improve safety measures on the platform.

This legal move is part of broader efforts to enhance online safety regulations, as the U.S. Senate recently approved the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, which awaits further legislative approval.

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