TikTok, parent face US lawsuit

The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against TikTok and parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children's privacy on the social media app as the Biden administration continues its crackdown on the social media site.

The government said TikTok violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act that requires services aimed at children to obtain parental consent to collect personal information from users under age 13.

The Chinese-owned short-video platform boasts around 170 million US users, and is currently fighting a new law that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok's US assets by January 19 or face a ban.

The lawsuit is the latest US action against TikTok and its Chinese parent over fears the company improperly collects vast amounts of data on Americans for the Chinese government, while influencing content in a way that could harm Americans.

The suit, which was joined by the Federal Trade Commission, said it was aimed at putting an end "to TikTok's unlawful massive-scale invasions of children's privacy."

Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the energy and commerce committee, said the suit "underscores the importance of divesting TikTok from Chinese Communist Party control."

Reuters