Another class action lawsuit has been filed against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, alleging that the social media giant illegally collects and sells personal data from millions of minor children without parental consent.
The lawsuit, brought by plaintiff Michael Luong on behalf of his child and other similarly affected minors, accuses TikTok of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by failing to notify parents and obtain their consent before gathering sensitive personal information from users under 13 years old, according to the complaint filed March 14 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
According to the complaint, TikTok collects a wide range of data from children, including names, ages, profile images, passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, approximate locations, social media contacts and even messages exchanged on the platform.
The lawsuit further alleges that TikTok monetizes this data by selling access to advertisers, a practice that the plaintiffs argue is both deceptive and unlawful.
The lawsuit claims TikTok has knowingly disregarded federal protections for children’s online privacy, despite a 2019 court order intended to curb such violations.
That year, TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, was found in violation of COPPA and ordered to comply with regulations requiring parental notice and consent for data collection. However, the new complaint argues that TikTok has continued these practices, failing to enforce adequate age verification measures and allowing children to bypass age restrictions to create full-access accounts.