TikTok (Photo: Courtesy Photo)FTC Hits Musical.ly With Record-Setting $5.7M Fine
Musical.ly, also known as TikTok, has been hit with the highest-ever FTC penalty for COPPA violations. The FTC alleged Musical.ly collected young children's data without parental consent.
February 27, 2019 at 03:16 PM
3 minute read
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a record-setting fine in a settlement with Musical.ly on Wednesday, alleging the social media platform violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
The $5.7 million penalty is the largest the FTC has issued over COPPA violations. Musical.ly, also known as TikTok, is alleged to have collected children's personal data without parental consent. An email address, phone number, full name, username, a profile picture and a short bio are required to sign up for Musical.ly's app.
Prior to 2017, the company didn't ask users' ages or prevent those under 13 from creating accounts. Under COPPA, companies must obtain parental consent when collecting personal data from children under 13. Musical.ly didn't retroactively check users' ages after updating its policy.
“The operators of Musical.ly—now known as TikTok—knew many children were using the app, but they still failed to seek parental consent before collecting names, email addresses, and other personal information from users under the age of 13,” said FTC chairman Joe Simons in a press release Wednesday. “This record penalty should be a reminder to all online services and websites that target children: We take enforcement of COPPA very seriously, and we will not tolerate companies that flagrantly ignore the law.”
The FTC also expressed concern with Musical.ly's default “public” setting for videos shared by users, claiming it allowed adult users to see children's online bios and information. Musical.ly's app also allows users to direct message others on the platform.
Musical.ly announced Wednesday it will now split users into “age appropriate TikTok environments,” following FTC guidelines for apps that target adults and children. TikTok's section for children does not include user's personal information and restricts content and user interaction on the platform. The changes will impact new users and those already on the platform, Musical.ly said.
“While we've always seen TikTok as a place for everyone, we understand the concerns that arise around younger users,” Musical.ly representatives wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
“In working with the FTC and in conjunction with today's agreement, we've now implemented changes to accommodate younger U.S. users in a limited, separate app experience that introduces additional safety and privacy protections designed specifically for this audience,” the blog post continued. Musical.ly declined to provide additional comment.
The FTC's settlement with Musical.ly comes less than a week after children's advocacy groups filed a complaint about another social media platform's alleged COPPA violations.
On Feb. 21, advocacy groups urged the FTC to investigate Facebook's alleged practice of allowing children to complete in-app purchases in games on the platform, sometimes spending thousands of dollars without their parents' consent. Apple and Google previously faced similar COPPA violation complaints.
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