DOJ sues TikTok

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, alleging violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing children under 13 to create accounts without parental consent and unlawfully collecting their personal information. The complaint, filed alongside the Federal Trade Commission, claims TikTok has failed to comply with a 2019 settlement that required it to implement measures to protect children's privacy. Officials express concern that TikTok has repeatedly violated privacy laws, impacting millions of children across the country. TikTok has contested these allegations, asserting that many relate to past practices and are factually inaccurate. This legal battle coincides with ongoing discussions in Congress regarding a potential ban on TikTok unless ByteDance divests its ownership. The company has over 170 million U.S. users, with a significant portion being minors who use the platform frequently.