TikTok and Parent Firm ByteDance Under DOJ Scrutiny Over Child Privacy Violations

TikTok is once again facing a legal wrath in US. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has forwarded a complaint regarding the short-video hosting platform and its Chinese parent company ByteDance to the Justice Department (DOJ) due to concerns about the violation of children's privacy laws.

The FTC's investigation discovered that TikTok and its parent company "are violating or are about to violate the law."

This case is separate from the earlier regulation passed this year that threatens to ban TikTok in the western country unless ByteDance sells its business.

Normally, the FTC doesn't publicly announce when it refers a complaint to the DOJ, as per a report by BBC. However, in this instance, they felt it was important to do so for the public's benefit.

The COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ) rules include how online services handle and manage the personal information of kids under 13. Whereas, the FTC Act aims to stop companies from involving in “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.”

TikTok has already given its statement over the allegations and claimed that the social media company has been cooperating with the FTC for over a year to resolve its concerns.

"We're disappointed the agency is pursuing litigation instead of continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution," TikTok reportedly said.

Back in April, President Joe Biden signed a law giving ByteDance a year to sell TikTok or face a ban in the US.

The law was passed earlier as there were heightened concerns that TikTok might be sharing user data with Chinese authorities.