By HALELUYA HADERO (AP Business Writer)
NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission is looking into TikTok's data and security practices, which might result in a settlement or a lawsuit against the company, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The investigation is the latest conflict in Washington for the social media company, which is already opposing a federal bill that could prohibit the platform in the U.S. if it doesn’t sever connections with its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.
During its investigation, the FTC has been examining whether TikTok broke a part of federal law that bans “unfair and deceptive” business practices by denying that individuals in China had access to U.S. user data, said the person, who is not authorized to discuss the investigation.
The agency is also checking the company for potential breaches of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which mandates kid-oriented apps and websites to get parents’ approval before collecting personal information of children under 13.
FTC spokesperson Nicole Drayton and TikTok declined to comment on the investigation, which was first reported by Politico.
The agency is close to finishing its investigation and might come to an agreement with TikTok in the next few weeks. But there's no specific deadline for an agreement, the person said.
If the FTC proceeds with a lawsuit instead, it would need to refer the case to the Justice Department, which would have 45 days to decide whether it wants to file a case on the FTC’s behalf, make changes, or return it to the agency to pursue independently.
The news comes almost two years after Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the committee, asked FTC chair Lina Khan to investigate TikTok, citing a report from Buzzfeed News that stated ByteDance employees in China have repeatedly accessed data on U.S. TikTok users.
In late 2022, ByteDance stated it dismissed four employees who accessed data on journalists from Buzzfeed News and The Financial Times while trying to track down leaks of confidential materials about the company.
Legislation that could decide TikTok’s future in the U.S. was approved in the House this month. However, the bill has already encountered obstacles in the Senate, where there is little agreement on the best approach to address concerns over the social platform.
Lawmakers and intelligence officials have expressed concerns that the platform could be used by the Chinese government to access U.S. user data or influence Americans through its popular algorithm. To date, the U.S. government has not publicly provided evidence that this has occurred.
