FTC Refers TikTok Dispute to Department of Justice
The regulatory body known as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken action by forwarding its formal grievance regarding the popular social media platform TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). This move comes after an in-depth investigation initiated by the FTC subsequent to a settlement in 2019 with Musical.ly, the predecessor of TikTok, for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC’s primary focus was to determine if TikTok had contravened laws governing “unfair and misleading” business practices.
According to the FTC, the transfer of the case to the DOJ was deemed necessary due to findings from the investigation suggesting potential violations or imminent breaches of federal regulations. In a statement released by the FTC, they explained the rare decision to publicly disclose the referral as being in the best interest of the public and emphasized the importance of legal proceedings in such matters.
During a Senate hearing earlier in the year, TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew disclosed that the company maintains a workforce of approximately 40,000 individuals dedicated to trust and safety operations. However, he admitted to a lack of clarity regarding the number of underage users on the platform. At present, TikTok has not issued any immediate response to the FTC’s actions.
Aside from the ongoing FTC investigation, TikTok is facing additional hurdles in the United States. In May, the social media platform initiated legal proceedings against the U.S. government following the enactment of legislation by President Joe Biden. This legislation stipulates that ByteDance must secure a buyer within nine months, with a potential three-month extension if negotiations are underway. Failure to comply may result in the prohibition of the popular video-sharing app in the country.
Arguing that the legislation infringes upon the constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment, TikTok filed a legal challenge asserting that the mandated divestiture is unfeasible on various fronts – commercially, technologically, and legally.
For more details, you can access the original article [here](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/18/ftc-refers-tiktok-complaint-to-doj.html).
