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Tag: Center For Digital Democracy

  • TikTok Accused of Violating Child Privacy—Again

    TikTok Accused of Violating Child Privacy—Again

    TikTok is in hot water yet again, with consumer groups accusing the social media company of violating child privacy.

    The Center for Digital Democracy and the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood are leading a coalition of some 20 children’s and consumer groups that have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), accusing TikTok of violating a previous agreement with the FTC.

    In 2019 TikTok was fined $5.7 million for violating child privacy. As The New York Times reports, TikTok agreed to a number of changes designed to better protect the privacy of children.

    According to the NYT, “as part of the settlement, the video-sharing app agreed to obtain a parent’s permission before collecting their child’s personal information. It also agreed to delete personal information, including videos, of any children identified as younger than 13 and to remove videos and other personal details of users whose ages were unknown.”

    In spite of the agreement, it appears that TikTok has not followed through on its promise. This is just the latest issue the social media app has dealt with, as it has faced ongoing scrutiny over security and privacy concerns, with the Pentagon and some government agencies banning the app from employees’ devices.

    If the FTC finds that TikTok has reneged on its agreement, the company’s problems will only go from bad to worse.

  • Consumer Groups Call For Stronger Online Privacy Measures

    In response to a discussion draft of a new privacy bill now under consideration by the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, ten privacy and consumer groups today called for stronger measures to protect consumer privacy both online and off.

    The organizations including the Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumer Watchdog, World Privacy Forum, Consumer Action, USPIRG, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Privacy Times, Privacy Lives, and the Center for Digital Democracy, raised their concerns in a letter to Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher and Ranking Member Cliff Stearns.

    The groups said in a letter that because consumers increasingly rely on the Internet and other digital services for a variety of transactions involving sensitive personal data, that the draft privacy bill needs to be strengthened.

    The groups recommended the following:

    *The bill should incorporate the Fair Information Practice Principles that have long served as the bedrock of consumer privacy protection in the U.S., including the principle of not collecting more data than is necessary for the stated purposes, limits on how long data should be retained, and a right to access and correct one’s data.

    *The bill’s definitions of what constitutes "sensitive information" need to be expanded; for instance, to include health-related information beyond just "medical records."

    Jeff-Chester-Center-for-Dig *The bill should require strict "opt-in" procedures for the collection and use of covered data and should prohibit the collection and use of any sensitive information except for the transactions for which consumers provided it.

    "Consumers online are being stealthily tracked, profiled and targeted by marketers – who are able to obtain personal information regarding their finances, health, ethnicity, and their families," said Jeff Chester, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

    "The public should not be placed at risk as they grow to rely on the Internet and mobile phones when making purchases and searching for information. Reps. Boucher and Stearns have launched an important debate that must lead to real privacy safeguards for consumers. Both political parties should work together to revise this proposal and enact landmark 21st Century consumer protection legislation."