The FTC has referred its children's privacy case against TikTok to the Department of Justice

The Federal Trade Commission has its complaint against TikTok to the Department of Justice after a lengthy investigation into the company's privacy and security practices. “Our investigation found reason to believe that TikTok is violating or is about to violate the FTC Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA),” FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a statement. twitter.com/linakhanFTC/status/1803146351749845196″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:a post;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “> in x.

in a Shared by the FTC, the regulator highlighted its investigation into TikTok after a 2019 privacy settlement related to Musical.ly, the app acquired by ByteDance that eventually became TikTok. The FTC “also investigated potential additional violations of COPPA and the FTC Act,” he said. However, it's unclear exactly what the FTC discovered. political Earlier this year, the regulator was also investigating whether TikTok had misled users about whether their personal data was accessible to people in China.

The statement itself is a somewhat unusual move for the FTC, which acknowledged that it does not typically publish its referral decisions. He said he believed doing so in this case “was in the public interest.” The referral is likely to increase pressure on TikTok, which is also fighting a legal battle against the US government to avoid a . Lawmakers and other officials have alleged that the app poses a national security threat because of its ties to China.

A TikTok spokesperson told Engadget in a statement that the company was “disappointed” with the FTC's decision. “We have been working with the FTC for more than a year to address their concerns,” the spokesperson said. “We are disappointed that the agency is pursuing litigation rather than continuing to work with us on a reasonable solution. 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. We are proud and remain deeply committed to the work we have done to protect children and will continue to update and improve our product.”