TikTok is being sued in the US for violating children's privacy rights.

TikTok is being sued for violating children's privacy rights.

According to CNN, the lawsuit stems from a 2019 agreement between TikTok and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to settle allegations that TikTok illegally collected personal information from users under the age of 13. The agreement required the Chinese app to take specific measures to comply with COPPA. The U.S. Department of Justice claims TikTok continues to violate the law, as well as the 2019 court order.

Despite offering a "Kids Mode" for users under 13, TikTok "willfully allowed children under 13 to create accounts to experience TikTok normally and collected extensive personal information from these children without prior parental notification or consent," according to a complaint filed in a California district court.

A TikTok spokesperson said the company disagrees "with these allegations, many of which relate to past events and behaviors that are untrue or have been addressed. We pride ourselves on our efforts to protect children and will continue to update and improve the platform."

However, the FTC is proposing fines of up to $51,744 per violation per day from TikTok for improper data collection. In theory, this could amount to billions of dollars if TikTok is found liable.

This lawsuit is a significant step in protecting children's online privacy and also a crucial test of how tech companies handle the data of young users.