On behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and affiliated companies for allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and infringing an existing 2019 FTC consent order against TikTok.
The complaint alleges that the defendants failed to comply with COPPA's requirement to notify and obtain parental consent before collecting and using personal information from children under 13.
“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC will continue to use the full scope of its authorities to protect children online—especially as firms deploy increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil kids and profit from their data.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton stated, “The Justice Department is committed to upholding parents’ ability to protect their children’s privacy. This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control.”
ByteDance and its related companies were allegedly aware of the need to comply with COPPA and the 2019 consent order but allowed millions of children under 13 on their platform in violation of COPPA. The complaint states that as of 2020, TikTok maintained accounts for children it knew were under 13 unless specific conditions were met. Human reviewers spent only five to seven seconds per account determining if it belonged to a child.
TikTok allegedly continued collecting personal data from these users without notifying parents or obtaining their consent as required by COPPA. Even after policy changes, TikTok reportedly maintained and used children's personal information unlawfully.
Concerns about these practices were raised internally at TikTok. One compliance employee noted potential trouble due to COPPA violations after failing to delete numerous underage accounts.
The complaint also alleges that TikTok built back doors into its platform allowing children to bypass age verification gates using credentials from third-party services like Google and Instagram. These "age unknown" accounts grew into millions.
Even when directing children towards TikTok Kids Mode—a more protected version—the company allegedly collected personal information in violation of COPPA. The complaint charges that TikTok collected excessive data such as children's activities on the app and multiple types of persistent identifiers, which were used for profiling without notifying parents fully.
Additionally, TikTok made it difficult for parents to request account deletions for their children. When requests were submitted, they often went unfulfilled due to unnecessary hurdles imposed by TikTok.
According to the complaint, TikTok began violating terms of the 2019 FTC order shortly after it took effect. The order was initially agreed upon by two entities previously known as Musical.ly Inc., acquired by ByteDance in 2017.
The complaint seeks civil penalties against ByteDance and TikTok along with a permanent injunction preventing future COPPA violations. Under the FTC Act, civil penalties can reach up to $51,744 per violation per day.
The Commission voted 3-0-2 in favor of referring the complaint to the Department of Justice; Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew N. Ferguson recused themselves from participation. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for Central California.
Representing this action are Assistant Directors Rachael L. Doud and Zachary A. Dietert along with Trial Attorneys Ben Cornfeld and Marcus P. Smith from the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch; Jonathan W. Ware, Iris Micklavzina, Sarah Choi, and Michael Sherling represent FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The Federal Trade Commission works towards promoting competition while protecting consumers through education efforts.
