TikTok Under Probe In US Over Violation Of Child Privacy

The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Justice Department are currently probing into the allegations that the Chinese social media app TikTok failed to protect children's privacy.

There are allegations that popular app TikTok, which is a huge craze among teenagers worldwide, failed to abide by the 2019 agreement to protect the privacy of the children.

Two individuals, one in Massachusetts and another source confirmed getting on a conference call with the FTC and Justice Department to discuss the accusations concerning children's privacy.

The development has come after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, July 6, that the U.S. government is looking into the possibility of banning TikTok, indicating that the officials may have decided to take this step over the possibility of data transmission to the Chinese government.

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence also said on Tuesday, July 7, that the U.S. will continue to take a strong stand against Chinese entities, including TikTok.

TikTok has come under fire and has become the latest subject for scrutiny in the U.S. over its ties with the Chinese parent company. TikTok has, however, mentioned in the past that the data related to the app is not shared with any organization in China and that the parent company has nothing to do with it.

It also claimed that the data for users in the U.S. is maintained at local offices within the country, with a back-up office in Singapore.

In response to the news, TikTok said that they take safety concerns seriously for every user.

The company further added that in the U.S. they “accommodate users under 13 in a limited app experience that introduces additional safety and privacy protections designed specifically for a younger audience.”

U.S. lawmakers have also been concerned about the privacy of the user data. They are worries about Chinese laws requiring domestic companies and applications to share the data and cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok is owned by a Chinese parent company by the name ByteDance. It has not become one of the many countries that are facing scrutiny within the U.S. amid its tensions with China over several issues, such as data privacy, trade, technology, coronavirus pandemic and other political issues.