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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Tuesday that it has referred a complaint against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, to the Department of Justice (DOJ). This referral follows an investigation into potential violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and whether TikTok engaged in “unfair and deceptive” business practices.
In a statement, the FTC explained, “The investigation uncovered reason to believe the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and that a proceeding is in the public interest. Consequently, the Commission has voted to refer the complaint to the DOJ, according to the procedures outlined in the FTC Act.”
TikTok responded with a public statement expressing disappointment over the FTC’s decision to pursue litigation. The company emphasized its ongoing cooperation with the FTC over the past year to address concerns and disputed the allegations. “We strongly disagree with the FTC’s allegations, many of which relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed,” TikTok stated. “We’re proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we’ve done to protect children and will continue to update and improve our product.”
The FTC noted that while it typically does not announce the referral of complaints, it determined that doing so in this case is in the public interest.
In 2019, TikTok paid $5.7 million to settle FTC allegations that it had illegally collected personal information from children. This settlement was the largest civil penalty ever obtained by the Commission in a children’s privacy case.
This announcement comes amid increasing scrutiny of TikTok in the United States.
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