The US Federal Trade Commission announced on Tuesday that it has referred a complaint against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance to the Department of Justice. The agency was investigating the company for possible violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and was looking into whether TikTok violated a law that prohibits “unfair and deceptive” business practices.
“The investigation revealed reason to believe that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and that proceeding is in the public interest, so the Commission has voted to refer a complaint to the DOJ, pursuant to the procedures outlined in the FTC Act,” the agency said in a statement.
TikTok issued a public statement noting that it has been working with the FTC for more than a year to address its concerns and that it is “disappointed” that the agency is pursuing litigation.
“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’s statement said. “We are proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we have done to protect children and will continue to update and improve our product.”
The FTC notes that while it does not typically announce that it has filed a complaint, it “has determined that doing so here is in the public interest.”
TikTok paid $5.7 million in 2019 to settle FTC allegations that it illegally collected personal information from children. The settlement marked the largest civil penalty ever imposed by the Commission in a child privacy case, according to the FTC.
The announcement comes as TikTok faces increased scrutiny in the US
In April, President Biden signed a bill that would ban TikTok if ByteDance doesn’t sell it within a year. The move was the result of years of concern by US lawmakers who fear ByteDance could leak US user data to the Chinese government. TikTok and ByteDance responded to the bill by suing the government, arguing that the law violates the US Constitution’s commitment to “both freedom of speech and individual liberty.”
