The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and parent company ByteDance, alleging the popular app violates children's privacy laws.

The government alleged that since 2019, TikTok “knowingly allowed children to create regular TikTok accounts and to create, view, and share short videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform. Defendants collected and stored a wide range of personal information from these children without notifying their parents or obtaining their consent.”

The lawsuit claims that this violates the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and its associated regulations, which prohibit website operators from collecting or using personal information from children under the age of 13 unless they have parental consent.

The Justice Department also alleges that TikTok failed to comply with parents' requests to remove accounts and information when they discovered their child was using the program.