TikTok faces scrutiny over minors' user data ... again

TikTok's recommendation algorithms have caught the world's attention and made the app a growing success. Now, the mechanisms underlying the hyper-personalized user feed curation feature are catching the attention of children's rights and digital privacy advocates. And not in a good way.

On Thursday, a coalition of 20 child advocacy, privacy, and consumer organizations filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission to request an investigation over the TikTok's data collection and privacy practices for minors. 

Two participating organizations, the Center for Digital Democracy and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said in a press release that TikTok has continued to violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) even after the FTC instituted a $5.7 million fine for a settlement with the app's predecessor, Musica.ly, in February 2019.  Read more...