FTC Imposes Record COPPA Fine

Legal Alert

Continuing its aggressive approach to the enforcement of privacy law violations, the FTC last week imposed on Musical.ly, Inc., the operator of the popular TikTok app (formerly called Musical.ly), a record-setting fine of $5.7 million for the company’s violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”).

COPPA establishes basic online privacy protections for children under the age of 13 and generally requires parental consent for the collection and sharing of any personal data for children younger than 13. The TikTok app allows users to make videos of themselves lip-syncing to popular songs and then post those videos online. In the process, significant personal information is shared and available for public viewing. The FTC cited the company’s failure, among other things, to obtain appropriate parental consent for this activity and its failure to disclose to its users the general availability of a user’s personal information.

In addition to the substantial fine, the company is required to delete all videos from users under age 13 and fully comply with COPPA going forward, including the requirements to obtain appropriate parental consent for the activity of users under age 13 and to update the disclosure of its privacy practice.

The FTC Order in this case can be accessed here.

Related Professionals

Related Capabilities

Media Contact

Public Relations Contact
Kate Lenders
Senior Marketing Manager
klenders@sgrlaw.com
312-360-6478

Jump to Page

Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP Cookie Preference Center

Your Privacy

When you visit our website, we use cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. For more information about how we use Cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Always Active

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. These cookies may only be disabled by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Functional Cookies

Always Active

Some functions of the site require remembering user choices, for example your cookie preference, or keyword search highlighting. These do not store any personal information.

Form Submissions

Always Active

When submitting your data, for example on a contact form or event registration, a cookie might be used to monitor the state of your submission across pages.

Performance Cookies

Performance cookies help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage. We access and process information from these cookies at an aggregate level.

Powered by Firmseek