The FTC and DOJ sued TikTok and ByteDance for violating COPPA by collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The complaint alleges that TikTok knowingly allowed millions of children on its platform and failed to comply with a 2019 consent order. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and a permanent injunction.
The FTC is seeking civil penalties and a permanent injunction against TikTok and ByteDance to prevent future COPPA violations.
In-house legal teams should review customer-facing agreements (Terms of Service, Privacy Policies), data processing agreements (DPAs) with third parties, and any vendor contracts involving data sharing or advertising. Focus on clauses governing consent for personal data collection from minors, age verification procedures, data retention and deletion policies for children's data, and breach notification protocols involving underage users. Given the alleged violation of a 2019 FTC consent order, contracts must be updated to include robust, verifiable parental consent mechanisms, explicit prohibitions on collecting data from users under 13 without compliance, and audit rights to ensure ongoing COPPA adherence. Consider adding indemnification provisions for child privacy violations and requiring subcontractors to follow identical standards.
Entity
TikTok and ByteDance
Also known as: TikTok
Industry
Social MediaOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/ftc-investigation-leads-lawsuit-against-tiktok-bytedance-flagrantly-violating-childrens-privacy-law
bytedance complaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/bytedance_complaint.pdf
video social networking app musically agrees settle ftc alle
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/02/video-social-networking-app-musically-agrees-settle-ftc-allegations-it-violated-childrens-privacy
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, as well as its affiliated companies"
"violating a children’s privacy law—the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act"
"The FTC Act allows civil penalties up to $51,744 per violation, per day."
"failed to comply with the COPPA requirement to notify and obtain parental consent before collecting and using personal information from children under the age of 13."
"August 2, 2024"
$750K
The FTC finalized an order against Vanilla Chip LLC (doing business as TruHeight) and its principals for deceptively advertising height-enhancing supplements for children and teens without scientific evidence. The company also used fake reviews and incentivized 5-star ratings. The order requires a $750,000 payment and prohibits false health claims and deceptive review practices.
$2.3M
The FTC alleged that RentGrow, a tenant screening company, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of its reports, including by reporting duplicate records and failing to disclose data sources. RentGrow agreed to pay a $2.25 million penalty and is prohibited from further FCRA violations and from misrepresenting dispute outcomes.
The FTC and New York Attorney General took action against Handy Technologies for deceptive earnings claims and failure to disclose fees and fines that led to millions of dollars being withheld from workers' wages. The FTC is sending over $2.7 million in refunds to 62,893 affected consumers.
$35.0M
The FTC alleged that Hopper, a travel booking app, charged consumers hidden and pre-selected fees (Tip and VIP Support) without their consent, misrepresented the benefits of VIP Support and Price Freeze services, and failed to clearly disclose total prices. Hopper agreed to pay $35 million for consumer redress and is prohibited from misrepresenting fees under a proposed order.
$1.5M
The FTC finalized a settlement with Publishing.com LLC and its principals for misleading consumers about potential earnings from self-publishing products. The company will pay $1.5 million and is prohibited from making unsubstantiated earnings claims, failing to disclose refund terms, and misrepresenting endorsements and reviews.
The FTC is seeking public comment on a proposed policy statement addressing concerns that AI companies may be manipulating AI system outputs contrary to consumer expectations for objectivity and accuracy. The statement explains that such conduct could be considered deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The public comment period runs until July 31, 2026.