TikTok Targeted by Advocacy Groups Over Children’s Privacy

Social-media powerhouse settled with FTC in 2019 over related concerns about users under 13

A group of consumer advocacy groups filed a complaint against TikTok with U.S. regulators Thursday, alleging that the social media giant is flouting child privacy laws and violating an earlier settlement by illegally collecting personal data from users under the age of 13.

They accused TikTok of violating the children's online privacy protection act, known as Coppa, by making it easy for children under 13 to join the app without their parents' permission. Also, according to the complaint, TikTok did not obtain parental consent to collect information about children, nor did it ask parents to review or delete the data it had collected. "We take privacy very seriously and are committed to helping ensure that TikTok continues to be a safe and entertaining community for our users," said a spokesman for TikTok, which is owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance Inc.

TikTok began asking users to enter their birth date when registering last year. Children under 13 will be directed to a restricted version of the app and will not be able to share their videos. For a child, however, it is easy to bypass the age-gate mechanism by simply entering a false birthday. TikTok will not seek parental consent at any time during the registration process.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-targeted-by-advocacy-groups-over-childrens-privacy-11589469011?mod=tech_lead_pos3