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TikTok’s parent company has been sued by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The agency argues that ByteDance has been allowing registrations from children under 13 for a long time. It appears that the company did not implement more efficient age verification methods until relatively recently. The DOJ had already accused the short video platform of sending US employee data to China.
The DOJ’s lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance claims that the Chinese-based company violated the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. More specifically, they refer to data collection. According to the DOJ, TikTok obtained data from “millions of American children under the age of 13.”
TikTok sued by the DOJ for children’s data handling in the US
While the minimum age requirement to use TikTok is 13, it seems that bypassing the restriction was quite simple. Until late 2020, creating a TikTok account as a minor would have been as easy as using a fake date of birth without any further verification. While that was later fixed, the platform’s account creation system still had backdoors that allowed it to be bypassed.
For example, until 2022, people could create a TikTok account using an Instagram or Google account. However, Instagram did not enforce any age verification criteria until 2019. At that time, children under 13 could create TikTok accounts using Instagram accounts with a false birth date.
The DOJ’s lawsuit even claims that ByteDance was aware of the situation. More specifically, the agency says that TikTok has “actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children.” The lawsuit seeks “injunctive relief, civil penalties, and other relief” for the alleged collection of children’s data for years.
Another blow for TikTok amid pressure
This is another episode in the complicated relationship between TikTok and the US government. Let’s remember that there is currently a bill signed by Joe Biden that forces ByteDance to divest from its stake in the North American section of TikTok. ByteDance still has the chance to appeal the decision and try to reverse it. However, if the bill is upheld and ByteDance does not sell TikTok, the service will stop working in the US.