The leaders of a bipartisan congressional panel focused on China have requested the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether TikTok violated child privacy laws during its lobbying efforts against legislation that could potentially ban the app in the U.S. This request was made in a letter obtained exclusively by NBC News.
John Moolenaar, the new Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, the committee’s top Democrat, sent a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan. They asked her to examine the pop-up messages TikTok sent to users in March as the House expedited a bill that would force ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese-based owner, to divest or face a nationwide ban.
The lawmakers are particularly interested in whether TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This law allows parents to review and consent to the information websites and apps collect from children. Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi claim that TikTok sent intrusive and deceptive pop-up messages to a large number of users, including children, requesting personal information and urging them to contact Congress in opposition to the legislation.
As Congress worked to pass the legislation that could ban TikTok, the app responded with pop-up messages urging users to “Stop a TikTok shutdown” and to call their representatives. An updated version of the bill passed through Congress as part of a national security supplemental package and was signed by President Joe Biden. ByteDance now has nine months to divest from TikTok if it wants to continue operating in the U.S., although the president can grant an additional 90-day extension. The company has vowed legal action that could delay any ban.
Moolenaar stated that while the House was considering the bill, TikTok transformed its app into an emergency messaging system for the Chinese Communist Party, misleading users about the bill and encouraging children to call congressional offices. The lawmakers want the FTC to investigate whether children under age 13 received these pop-ups. TikTok maintains that the notifications were sent only to users aged 18 and older.
A TikTok spokesperson told NBC News that the notifications went to users aged 18 and older and that users had multiple options to dismiss the notification. The spokesperson expressed disappointment that Members of Congress were concerned simply because they heard from constituents imploring them not to pass a bill that they believed trampled on their First Amendment rights.
The lawmakers are also concerned that the TikTok pop-ups asked for personal information like users’ ZIP codes to find their representatives. An update to the child privacy law in 2013 included geolocation as a type of data that could not be gathered from children without parental consent. However, the law does not hold companies liable if users lie about their ages to use the service. TikTok says it follows FTC guidance related to the ages of its users and removes accounts when it finds that users have lied about their ages. The company releases quarterly reports that include the number of accounts removed that were suspected to be those of children under 13.
In their letter, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi also ask the FTC to examine whether TikTok violated Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts in commerce. They referred to the pop-ups as deceptive for the language used to describe the bill’s implications for the app. Members of Congress have pushed back against calling the bill a ban, noting that TikTok can divest to continue operating in the U.S. The FTC has said violations of Section 5 occur when a company’s misrepresentations are likely to affect the consumer’s conduct or decision with respect to a product.
Krishnamoorthi stated that TikTok’s influence campaign targeting Americans, including young children, in certain Members’ districts and soliciting further information about their location once they accessed the app is disturbing. He added that TikTok has violated children’s privacy laws in the past, and this may be the latest chapter.
This is the first joint letter from Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi since Moolenaar took over leading the panel after the former chairman, Mike Gallagher, resigned early from the House last week.
In a related development, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued two Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to TikTok Inc. This investigation focuses on TikTok’s potential facilitation of human trafficking and child privacy violations, as well as other potential unlawful conduct. Paxton stated that TikTok may be complicit in child exploitation, sex trafficking, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and other unimaginable horrors. He vowed to get to the bottom of these concerns and ensure that Big Tech does not interfere with the safety and security of Texans.
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice are also looking into allegations that TikTok failed to live up to a 2019 agreement aimed at protecting children’s privacy. This development is the latest challenge for the short-video company, which is popular with teens. TikTok has faced scrutiny, including from the national security-focused Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, due to its Chinese parent corporation.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has suggested that the Trump administration is considering banning TikTok, alleging that the company shares information with the Chinese government, a charge it has denied. The Center for Digital Democracy, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and others have asked the FTC to investigate their allegations that TikTok failed to delete videos and personal information about users age 13 and younger as it had agreed to do, among other violations.
A TikTok spokesperson told Reuters that they take safety seriously for all users and that in the US, they accommodate users under 13 in a limited app experience that introduces additional safety and privacy protections designed specifically for a younger audience. Officials from the FTC and the Justice Department have met with representatives of the groups to discuss the matter.
TikTok, which allows users to create short videos, has grown increasingly popular among US teenagers. About 60 percent of TikTok’s 26.5 million monthly active users in the US are aged 16 to 24, the company said last year. US policymakers have raised national security concerns over TikTok’s handling of user data, saying they are worried about Chinese laws requiring domestic companies to support and cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok, owned by ByteDance, is one of several China-based firms that have had to navigate heightened US-China tensions over trade, technology, and the coronavirus pandemic. Under intense US regulatory scrutiny, TikTok has poached Disney’s Kevin Mayer to be its chief executive and is trying to project a more global image, with offices in California, Singapore, and elsewhere.
