The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, accusing them of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing children under 13 to create accounts and collect their personal data without parental consent. The complaint states that TikTok has knowingly permitted children to interact with adults on the platform and failed to delete accounts upon parental requests. FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized that TikTok's actions pose a threat to children's safety, highlighting the need for enforcement against such violations. Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky has called for comprehensive legislation to enhance online protections for children and adults alike. The DOJ's legal action seeks to end what it describes as TikTok's unlawful privacy invasions and to impose civil penalties for these violations. This lawsuit follows previous legal issues faced by TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly, which was fined for similar violations in 2019.