The FTC has referred its youngster privateness case towards TikTok to the Justice Division

The Federal Commerce Fee has its grievance towards TikTok to the Justice Division after a long-running investigation into the corporate’s privateness and safety practices. “Our investigation discovered purpose to consider that TikTok is violating or about to violate the FTC Act and the Kids’s On-line Privateness Safety Act (COPPA),” FTC Chair Lina Khan mentioned in on X.

In a shared by the FTC, the regulator famous its investigation into TikTok after a 2019 privateness settlement associated to Musical.ly, the app acquired by ByteDance that ultimately turned TikTok. The FTC “additionally investigated extra potential violations of COPPA and the FTC Act,” it mentioned. It’s not clear precisely what the FTC turned up, although Politico earlier this 12 months that the regulator was additionally trying into whether or not TikTok had misled customers about whether or not their private information was accessible to individuals in China.

The assertion itself is a considerably uncommon transfer for the FTC, which acknowledged that it does not usually publicize its referral choices. It mentioned it believed doing so on this case “was within the public curiosity.” The referral is more likely to ramp up stress on TikTok, which can be combating a authorized battle towards the US authorities to keep away from a . Lawmakers and different officers have alleged the app poses a nationwide safety risk as a result of its ties to China.

A TikTok spokesperson informed Engadget in a press release that the corporate was “upset” with the FTC’s determination. “We have been working with the FTC for greater than a 12 months to handle its considerations,” the spokesperson mentioned. “We’re upset the company is pursuing litigation as an alternative of continuous to work with us on an affordable answer. We strongly disagree with the FTC’s allegations, a lot of which relate to previous occasions and practices which are factually inaccurate or have been addressed. We’re pleased with and stay deeply dedicated to the work we have finished to guard kids and we’ll proceed to replace and enhance our product.”