In an intensified legal showdown, the U.S. Department of Justice is gearing up to sue TikTok, zeroing in on accusations that the social media giant breached the privacy rights of minors. This pivot away from adult data privacy concerns follows findings from a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probe.
The FTC, after scrutinizing TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, has handed over its findings to the Justice Department, citing significant potential violations. The agency’s statement underscored the urgency and public interest in the forthcoming legal actions.
Back in 2020, Reuters brought to light that both the FTC and the Justice Department were examining claims that TikTok had not adhered to a 2019 agreement designed to safeguard children’s privacy on the platform.
TikTok, however, disputes the FTC’s allegations, expressing disappointment over the decision to initiate legal proceedings.
This legal clash occurs against the backdrop of broader concerns in Congress about the risk of the Chinese government accessing data from TikTok’s 170 million American users, a claim TikTok has consistently denied.
In a related struggle, TikTok is also contesting a recent U.S. law mandating ByteDance to divest its American assets by January 19 or face a potential ban. ByteDance contends that such a forced divestiture is neither technologically nor legally feasible, and warns of an unavoidable ban without judicial intervention.
