TikTok’s problems with the US authorities worsened today when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the company, blaming it for mishandling the personal data of minors.
The parental consent law requires digital service providers to get permission from a child’s legal guardian or parent before sharing their data with anyone.
The Texas AG believes TikTok acted in violation of this law.
Texas law requires social media companies to take steps to protect kids online and requires them to provide parents with tools to do the same. Ken Paxton, Texas AG said:
TikTok and other social media companies cannot ignore their duties under Texas law.
If found guilty, TikTok could be required to pay up to $10,000 per violation.
TikTok to face a ban in the US?
This isn’t the first time TikTok has run into problems with the US authorities.
Back in 2020, the US government used the app the reach out to young people to recruit them into the army.
But soon it was considered a national security risk and then President Donald Trump tried to ban the app in the US.
It took the US government two years to successfully ban the app on government devices, citing national security reasons.
But a decision to permanently ban TikTok in the US is still facing legal resistance.
The US government wants TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to either store the users’ data in the US or sell the company to an American entity.
ByteDance doesn’t want to give in to either of those demands, saying it would cause issues with the Chinese government.
That legal battle is expected to continue in the future.
President Biden has already approved a bill for the forced sale of the company but unless TikTok announces it is up for sale, there is nothing the US lawmakers can do.
ByteDance’s problems at home
While the US legal issues continue to weigh down on the company, things aren’t running as smoothly at home either.
The company is using Huawei’s technology to train its artificial intelligence models, something that could also run into trouble with the US authorities who have already banned Huawei in the US.
Moreover, its AI ambitions have resulted in a price war in China against competitors like Baidu, Alibaba, Bilibili, and JD.
Earlier this year, Alibaba started offering some of its AI services for free while offering up to 97% discount on others.
This forced other companies to follow suit, with ByteDance claiming it had slashed its prices down to just 1% of what the industry norms were.
These massive discounts have slowed the financial progress of the company, making it hard to compete with other Chinese competitors.
Tech companies both in China and the US are keeping a close eye on how the US government deals with ByteDance and TikTok.
The issue of handling minors’ data is already a much-debated topic in the US and the recent developments will not only have implications for TikTok but will also help finalize legislation for how US companies deal with the said data.
The post TikTok sued in US for violating child safety laws amid growing legal issues appeared first on Invezz
