Texas is suing social video platform TikTok over children's privacy, claiming the app is sharing and selling minors' personal information in a way that violates the state's Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act (SCOPE Act). TikTok is also being accused of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).

The SCOPE Act came into effect Sept. 1 and requires apps, websites, or software publishers to ask users for their age, and, if a minor, add extra protections to stop the minor's personal information or data from being sold or collected to show targeted ads to an underaged person in the state.

Apps must also be transparent about how they use algorithms to target minors with content, and must create parental tools to help parents monitor a minor's use of an online platform. TikTok has failed to provide adequate parental tools and has shared minors' information without parental permission, the complaint alleges. Texas also takes issue with the fact that TikTok isn't verifying parents' identities on the app with its existing "Family Pairing" feature.

"I will continue to hold TikTok and other Big Tech companies accountable for exploiting Texas children and failing to prioritize minors’ online safety and privacy," said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement.

TikTok collects a lot of information about its users, but so do most social media platforms. TikTok collects and stores users' names, ages, TikTok account usernames and passwords, emails, phone numbers, addresses, locations, IP addresses, mobile carriers, time zone settings, device models, device operating systems, and other information. TikTok then shares some of this information with third parties, like "service providers and business partners" for "research, payment processing," advertising, and other reasons, according to TikTok and the complaint.

When it comes to minors' data, however, TikTok's Children's Privacy Policy claims the company is not selling their info. TikTok says it will disclose minors' data to comply with law enforcement investigations, but doesn't "sell information from Children to third parties and does not share such information with third parties for the purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising."

Reached for comment on the lawsuit, a spokesperson for TikTok tells PCMag via email: "We strongly disagree with these allegations and, in fact, we offer robust safeguards for teens and parents, including Family Pairing, all of which are publicly available. We stand by the protections we provide families."

It's unclear, however, how much time TikTok has left in the US. The ByteDance-owned company is trying to appeal an upcoming ban that could take effect next year, where TikTok would be blocked across the US. US officials have a problem with TikTok's ties to China, citing surveillance and national security concerns.

At the state level, multiple states have passed age-verification laws that are causing problems for some sites. Texas' age-verification requirements could result in TikTok being blocked in the state unless the company complies with state rules. Or, it may just result in a fine of $10,000 per violation. Otherwise, TikTok could block itself in the state, like Pornhub has done, to protest age-verification regulation.

By: DocMemory
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