Federal Government Sues TikTok Over Alleged Child Privacy Violations

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On Friday the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against social media giant TikTok and its parent company for allegedly violating federal laws intended to protect children online.

TikTok boasts approximately one billion users worldwide — including 135 million or more in the U.S. — making it one of the most popular social media platforms on earth.

However, TikTok and its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, have come under fire for serving kids a steady “diet of darkness” online and struggling to protect private user data from entities in China, such as the Chinese Communist Party.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that TikTok and ByteDance violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 — a federal law that helps protect children from being tracked online.

The lawsuit accuses TikTok of “unlawful massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy,” saying,

TikTok collects, stores, and processes vast amounts of data from its users, who include millions of American children younger than 13. . . . For years, Defendants [TikTok and ByteDance] have knowingly allowed children under 13 to create and use TikTok accounts without their parents’ knowledge or consent, have collected extensive data from those children, and have failed to comply with parents’ requests to delete their children’s accounts and personal information.

This is not the first lawsuit TikTok has faced for failing to protect children on its platform.

Last year Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed two lawsuits against the tech giant — one in Cleburne County and another in Union County — for violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and failing to protect children.

The lawsuits allege that TikTok and ByteDance failed to fully disclose that the company is subject to Chinese laws that mandate cooperation with intelligence activities of the People’s Republic of China, and that TikTok’s algorithm deliberately promotes “intensely sexualized” content — including content that sexualizes children. The A.G.’s legal team has pointed out that objectionable content is even available to users who enable TikTok’s content filtering in the app, and that TikTok aggressively collects sensitive user data.

Social media platforms are more than just websites or phone apps. These are multimillion dollar businesses owned and operated by investors and other interests. The adults who own these companies have a responsibility to follow state and federal laws and to protect children on their platforms.

As we have said before, there’s more and more evidence that social media platforms like TikTok put users’ personal information at risk and are actually designed to push objectionable content to users.

With that in mind, it’s good to see the Department of Justice taking legal action to fight back against these tech companies and protect our children online.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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State of Arkansas Files Second Complaint in Lawsuit Against TikTok

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The State of Arkansas is pressing forward with its legal challenges against social media giant TikTok.

With an estimated one billion users worldwide and 135 million in the U.S., TikTok is considered by some to be the most popular social media platform in the world. However, last year Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed two lawsuits accusing TikTok and its parent company ByteDance of violating Arkansas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

One of the lawsuits — filed in Union County — alleges that TikTok failed to fully disclose that TikTok is subject to Chinese law — including laws that mandate cooperation with intelligence activities of the People’s Republic of China.

In an amended complaint filed in Union County on July 18, the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office argued,

Tik Tok also downplays its connection to China by dismissing Chinese Communist Party presence and influence within ByteDance as unimportant or irrelevant. . . . TikTok’s efforts to downplay its connection to China are designed to, and have the effect of, conveying to Arkansas consumers that the risk of their data being accessed and exploited by Chinese authorities is minimal to nonexistent. . . . The Chinese Government and Communist Party exercise and have exercised legal and political authority over ByteDance. Chinese authorities even forced the company to alter certain business practices and close one business altogether. . . . [TikTok and ByteDance] knowingly deceived Arkansas consumers, and continue to do so, because Chinese law reaches their data in all the ways described in this Complaint and because their data is at risk of access and exploitation by Chinese government or Communist Party.

Social media platforms aren’t just websites or phone apps. These are multimillion dollar businesses owned and operated by investors and other interests.

As we have said before, there’s mounting evidence that platforms like TikTok put people’s personal information at risk and are actually designed to push objectionable content to users.

With that in mind, it’s good to see the A.G.’s office taking action to fight back against these businesses and protect Arkansans online.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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FTC Order Would Ban Social Media App From Offering Anonymous Messaging to Kids Under 18

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Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced legal action against social media platform NGL and its founders, citing “a host of law violations related to their anonymous messaging app, including unfairly marketing the service to children and teens.”

Launched in 2021, NGL is a social media platform that encourages users to send messages and ask and answer questions — all anonymously. The FTC says NGL’s anonymity promotes cyberbullying and exposes children to inappropriate content.

In a statement, the FTC and the LA D.A.’s Office said,

“NGL marketed its app to kids and teens despite knowing that it was exposing them to cyberbullying and harassment,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “In light of NGL’s reckless disregard for kids’ safety, the FTC’s order would ban NGL from marketing or offering its app to those under 18. We will keep cracking down on businesses that unlawfully exploit kids for profit.”

“The consequences of these actions can be severe. The anonymity provided by the app can facilitate rampant cyberbullying among teens, causing untold harm to our young people,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said. “We cannot tolerate such behavior, nor can we allow companies to profit at the expense of our children’s safety and well-being. Today’s charges send a clear message that deceptive practices and targeting vulnerable populations will not be tolerated.”

The FTC’s case is reminiscent of the Arkansas Attorney General’s lawsuits against TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.

The lawsuits allege social media giant TikTok violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting “intensely sexualized” content — including content that sexualizes children — on its platform, and that TikTok failed to fully disclose that the platform is subject to Chinese law — including “laws that mandate secret cooperation with intelligence activities of the People’s Republic of China.”

The lawsuit against Meta — owner of Facebook and Instagram — alleges the social media platforms violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by relying on algorithms intentionally designed “to exploit human psychology and foster addiction to maximize users’ screen time,” noting that this exploitation is especially true of young users with developing brains.

In each case, the Arkansas Attorney General argues the social media platforms deceptively marketed their apps as being appropriate for children under 18. The FTC is now making a similar argument in its case against NGL.

As we have said time and time again, social media platforms aren’t just websites. These are multimillion dollar businesses owned and operated by investors and other interests.

There is mounting evidence that these platforms put users’ personal information at risk and are actually designed to push objectionable content to users. With that in mind, it’s good to see state and federal regulators taking action to protect children on social media.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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