Photo: ANP
The US state of Indiana has taken TikTok to court for violating rules to ensure children’s safety on social media, the New York Times reports. The fact that the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, shared information with the Chinese government is also part of the case. This is a violation of Indiana consumer protection laws.
Despite the special options to make it safe for children to use, they can easily come into contact with things that are not suitable for children. Indiana also believes TikTok should provide clarity about the Chinese government’s ability to view all user data. The app itself denies that it provided data about Americans to China, but recently had to admit in Europe that data from users likely ended up in other countries, including China. Indiana calls the app “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is the first by a US country against TikTok, but the app has faced resistance in the US for some time. For more than two years, the US government has been trying to ban TikTok or transfer the app to a non-Chinese company to protect national security. The popularity of the app, where users can share short videos, especially among young users, has authorities worried.
British and European authorities also have TikTok in their sights. Not only because of the ties to China, but also because advertisers can target children on the app.
