TEXAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday accused TikTok of violating the Parental Empowerment to Protect Children Online (SCOPE) Act by sharing the personal data of minors. Legal action was taken against.
The data the lawsuit alleges is shared includes “user interactions with TikTok, such as date of birth, email, phone number, device settings, such as device type, language settings, country settings, and videos watched. Contains data related to , Likes or Shares, Follow Accounts, Comments, Created Content, Video Captions, Sounds, Hashtags.
The SCOPE Act, which goes into effect on September 1, is a newly enacted law. This law requires digital service providers to protect minors from harmful content and data collection practices.
The lawsuit alleges that TikTok fails to provide parents and guardians with the tools they need to protect the privacy and safety of minors, and does not provide reliable ways to verify a parent’s identity or relationship with a minor. The company is accused of violating scope laws by failing to develop the product.
TikTok has placed restrictions on young users, banning those under 16 from sending or receiving direct messages, and banning live streaming for those under 18. However, Paxton says the platform is not yet compliant with scope laws.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction and civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation. Three violations were identified in this lawsuit.