FTC turns TikTok complaint over to Justice Department | Wilnesh News

Federal Trade Commission say tuesday The company has submitted complaints against TikTok and Chinese parent company ByteDance to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The FTC began investigating after a 2019 settlement with TikTok predecessor Musical.ly involving violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The Federal Trade Commission is detection See if TikTok violated federal laws prohibiting “unfair and deceptive” business practices.

The watchdog said it was referring the case to the Justice Department because the investigation “uncovered grounds to believe that the named defendant was violating or about to violate the law.”

“Although the Commission generally does not disclose the fact that it has filed a complaint, we believe it is in the public interest to do so and that the proceedings are in the public interest,” the FTC said.

in a senate hearing In January, TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew said the company employed about 40,000 people to operate with trust and safety, but added that he did not know how many minors were users of the social media platform.

A TikTok spokesperson said the company has been working with the FTC on the matter for more than a year and is “disappointed” with the agency’s decision to file suit.

“We strongly disagree with the FTC’s allegations, many of which relate to past incidents and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed,” the spokesperson said. “We are deeply impressed by the work we do to protect children. We are proud of and remain deeply committed to our products, which we will continue to update and improve. We provide an age-appropriate experience through strict safeguards, proactively exclude suspicious underage users, and voluntarily introduce safety features such as Default screen time limits, family matching, and default privacy for those under 16.

The company faces other challenges in the U.S.

TikTok sued the U.S. government in May after President Joe Biden signed legislation that gave ByteDance nine months to find a buyer, with the option of a three-month extension if a deal went ahead. Without a deal, short video apps could be banned.

Douyin says The bill violates the First Amendment and would make divestiture “simply impossible: commercially, technically, legally,” according to a legal filing.

—CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.