AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The Justice Department has sued TikTok for violating children's privacy. It's the latest legal trouble for the Chinese-owned video app. The lawsuit comes just months after Congress passed a law that would ban TikTok next year unless it's sold. NPR's Bobby Allyn joins us now to break down what the latest suit means. Hey, Bobby.
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: Hey. OK, so what's behind these allegations from the Justice Department against TikTok when it comes to children?
ALLYN: Yeah, you know, the whole suit is over kids using TikTok. Obviously, the app is quite popular with teens, but the DOJ says TikTok broke the law by letting kids under 13 make accounts and then by collecting personal data on them without their parents' consent. So there's this law known as the Children's Online Privacy Act that makes it illegal for social media sites like Snapchat and Meta to hoover up information on kids under 13. And justice lawyers say TikTok is ignoring this.
And, you know, the - Ailsa, the government says, you know, this is especially egregious because TikTok's parent company back in 2019 agreed to a settlement with the federal government. And it basically said, OK, guys, we're gonna stop doing this. We're going to pay a fine. Don't worry. The problem's over. And the DOJ says, actually, the problem isn't over. You're breaching the settlement. So the DOJ is asking a judge to impose fines on TikTok of up to $51,000 per violation per day, and that could reach into the billions of dollars pretty quickly.
CHANG: Wow. And what does TikTok have to say about the accusations?
ALLYN: Yeah. You know, TikTok says there's nothing to see here. The company said in a statement to me that the allegations relate to past practices and that they've addressed it by now. A TikTok spokesman said, you know, they're always taking down, you know, accounts that are suspected to be of kids under 13 and that TikTok has introduced a whole slate of features aimed at young users so that what kids are doing on TikTok exactly can be monitored by their parents.
CHANG: OK, so while this dispute is unfolding, we mentioned TikTok could be banned here in the U.S. next year unless it's sold. So where does that process stand right now?
ALLYN: Yeah, that's right. So this lawsuit from the Justice Department is not really TikTok's big concern, right? What they're really focused on is what you mentioned, the existential question - will they survive in America or not? They have until January 19 to sell, and if they don't find a non-Chinese buyer by then, TikTok will be kicked out of app stores, and it will become illegal to do business with TikTok. So that is obviously a real problem. Now, TikTok is suing to try to stop that process, but the suit is still pending.
And there's been all sorts of chatter about possible buyers, but nobody serious has stepped forward. TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance, Ailsa, does not want to sell. They've said that several times, and the 170 million American users of TikTok don't want to see it go away. But the company has five months now to try to figure it all out.
CHANG: The clock is ticking. That is NPR's Bobby Allyn. Thank you, Bobby.
ALLYN: Thanks, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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