Consumer Rights Wiki

TikTok: Difference between revisions

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|ArticleType=Service
|ArticleType=Service
|Category=Social media
|Category=Social media
|Logo=Tiktok PNG1-1180843710.png
|Logo=Tiktok logo.png
|Website=https://tiktok.com
|Website=https://tiktok.com
|Description=Social media platform famous for popularizing short-form content.
|Description=Social media platform famous for popularizing short-form content.
}}
}}


[[wikipedia:TikTok|TikTok]] is a social media platform developed by the Chinese internet technology company [[ByteDance|ByteDance Ltd]]. The app has been cited with numerous privacy concerns that eventually led to a US state ban in May 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archie |first=Ayana |date=May 18, 2023 |title=Montana becomes the first state to ban TikTok |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/05/18/1176805559/montana-tiktok-ban |access-date=Aug 13, 2025 |website=NPR}}</ref>
{{Wplink|TikTok}} is a social media platform developed by the Chinese internet technology company [[ByteDance|ByteDance Ltd]]. The app has been cited with numerous privacy concerns that eventually led to Montana banning it in May 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archie |first=Ayana |date=18 May 2023 |title=Montana becomes the first state to ban TikTok |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/05/18/1176805559/montana-tiktok-ban |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518073749/https://www.npr.org/2023/05/18/1176805559/montana-tiktok-ban |archive-date=18 May 2023 |access-date=13 Aug 2025 |website=NPR}}</ref>


==Consumer impact summary==
==Consumer impact summary==
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===User privacy===
===User privacy===
As per Privacy Policy:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Privacy Policy |url=https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/row/privacy-policy/en |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=TikTok}}</ref>
As per Privacy Policy:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Privacy Policy |url=https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/row/privacy-policy/en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816013219/https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/row/privacy-policy/en |archive-date=16 Aug 2025 |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |website=TikTok}}</ref>
*Automatically collects unreasonable heaps of information to fingerprint the user:
*Automatically collects unreasonable heaps of information to [[Device fingerprint|fingerprint]] the user:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
:'''Technical Information we collect about you.''' We collect certain information about the device you use to access the Platform, such as your IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purposes, model of your device, the device system, network type, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms, battery state, audio settings and connected audio devices.
:'''Technical Information we collect about you.''' We collect certain information about the device you use to access the Platform, such as your IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purposes, model of your device, the device system, network type, your screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms, battery state, audio settings and connected audio devices.
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
:*"Keystroke patterns or rhythms" is particularly notable as the in-app browser has been demonstrated to listen to inputs from keyboard and screen, as well as injecting JavaScript code.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krause |first=Felix |date=18 Aug 2022 |title=iOS Privacy: Announcing InAppBrowser.com - see what JavaScript commands get injected through an in-app browser |url=https://krausefx.com/blog/announcing-inappbrowsercom-see-what-javascript-commands-get-executed-in-an-in-app-browser#tiktok |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |quote=While you are interacting with the website, TikTok subscribes to all keyboard inputs (including passwords, credit card information, etc.) and every tap on the screen, like which buttons and links you click.}}</ref>
:*"Keystroke patterns or rhythms" is particularly notable as the in-app browser has been demonstrated to listen to inputs from keyboard and screen, as well as injecting [[JavaScript]] code.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krause |first=Felix |date=18 Aug 2022 |title=iOS Privacy: Announcing InAppBrowser.com - see what JavaScript commands get injected through an in-app browser |url=https://krausefx.com/blog/announcing-inappbrowsercom-see-what-javascript-commands-get-executed-in-an-in-app-browser#tiktok |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818205812/https://krausefx.com/blog/announcing-inappbrowsercom-see-what-javascript-commands-get-executed-in-an-in-app-browser#tiktok |archive-date=18 Aug 2022 |access-date=14 Aug 2025 |quote=While you are interacting with the website, TikTok subscribes to all keyboard inputs (including passwords, credit card information, etc.) and every tap on the screen, like which buttons and links you click.}}</ref>
*Also collects approximate location based on "SIM card and/or IP address" and precise location such as GPS.
*Also collects approximate location based on "SIM card and/or IP address" and precise location such as GPS.
*Serves personalized advertisements and runs its own [[TikTok and AI-powered ad tracking|AI-powered analytics tool for advertisers]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Mia |date=3 Jun 2025 |title=TikTok will give advertisers even more data on trends and users |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/678255/tiktok-advertiser-summit-ai-targeting-data-seo |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |website=The Verge}}</ref>
*Serves personalized advertisements and runs its own [[TikTok and AI-powered ad tracking|AI-powered analytics tool for advertisers]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Mia |date=3 Jun 2025 |title=TikTok will give advertisers even more data on trends and users |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/678255/tiktok-advertiser-summit-ai-targeting-data-seo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250603164513/https://www.theverge.com/news/678255/tiktok-advertiser-summit-ai-targeting-data-seo |archive-date=3 Jun 2025 |access-date=25 Jun 2025 |website=The Verge}}</ref>
Extensive List of Data Collected and Downloadable by the User in the Section "Downloadable and Collected Data"
Extensive List of Data Collected and Downloadable by the User in the Section "Downloadable and Collected Data"


==Incidents==
==Incidents==
{{Ph-C-Inc}}
{{Ph-C-Inc}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|+
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|-
|-
|Violations of Children's Privacy Laws
|Violations of Children's Privacy Laws
|2019-current
|2019—
|In 2019, the US Department of Justice sued TikTok and parent company [[ByteDance]] as well as it's associated companies for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act ([https://www.coppa.org/coppa/ COPPA]). The companies knowingly allowed children under 13 to make accounts and unlawfully collected data and personal information of said children without parental consent.<ref name="DOJ-COPPA">{{Cite web |date=2024-08-02 |title=Justice Department Sues TikTok and Parent Company ByteDance for Widespread Violations of Children’s Privacy Laws |url=https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-tiktok-and-parent-company-bytedance-widespread-violations-childrens |url-status=dead |website=Justice.gov}}</ref>
|In 2019, the US Department of Justice sued TikTok and parent company [[ByteDance]] as well as its associated companies for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ([https://www.coppa.org/coppa/ COPPA]). The companies knowingly allowed children under 13 to make accounts and unlawfully collected data and personal information of said children without parental consent.<ref name="DOJ-COPPA">{{Cite web |date=2 Aug 2024 |title=Justice Department Sues TikTok and Parent Company ByteDance for Widespread Violations of Children’s Privacy Laws |url=https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-tiktok-and-parent-company-bytedance-widespread-violations-childrens |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250209191215/https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-tiktok-and-parent-company-bytedance-widespread-violations-childrens |archive-date=9 Feb 2025 |website=Justice.gov}}</ref>
|TikTok, as of 2020, still has complains about allegedly still collecting and using personal data of children under 13.
|TikTok, as of 2020, still has complaints about allegedly still collecting and using personal data of children under 13.
|https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/ftc-investigation-leads-lawsuit-against-tiktok-bytedance-flagrantly-violating-childrens-privacy-law
|https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/ftc-investigation-leads-lawsuit-against-tiktok-bytedance-flagrantly-violating-childrens-privacy-law
|
|
|-
|-
|Suppressing "ugly", poor, or disabled creators
|Suppressing "ugly", poor, or disabled creators
|2020-present
|2020—
|[https://theintercept.com/ The Intercept] published a report in 2020 stating that obtained internal documents from TikTok instructed moderators to limit the amount of videos with people who have "ugly facial looks". "abnormal body shape", or are in poor or dirty environments. The documents claim that these types of videos are "not the ideal video form of our platform"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biddle1 Ribero2 Dias3 |first=Sam1 Paulo Victor2 Tatiana3 |date=2020-03-16 |title=Invisible Censorship |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/ |website=The Intercept}}</ref>
|[https://theintercept.com/ The Intercept] published a report in 2020 stating that obtained internal documents from TikTok instructed moderators to limit the amount of videos with people who have "ugly facial looks". "abnormal body shape", or are in poor or dirty environments. The documents claim that these types of videos are "not the ideal video form of our platform"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biddle1 Ribero2 Dias3 |first=Sam1 Paulo Victor2 Tatiana3 |date=16 Mar 2020 |title=Invisible Censorship |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316045931/https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/ |archive-date=16 Mar 2020 |website=The Intercept}}</ref>
|A TikTok spokesperson stated that the guidelines were “an early blunt attempt at preventing bullying but are no longer in place"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Itimu |first=Kiruti |date=2020-03-17 |title=TikTok Apparently Suppressed Content From Ugly or Poor People |url=https://techweez.com/2020/03/17/tiktok-apparently-suppresses-content-from-ugly-and-poor-people/ |website=Techweez}}</ref>
|A TikTok spokesperson stated that the guidelines were "an early blunt attempt at preventing bullying but are no longer in place"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Itimu |first=Kiruti |date=17 Mar 2020 |title=TikTok Apparently Suppressed Content From Ugly or Poor People |url=https://techweez.com/2020/03/17/tiktok-apparently-suppresses-content-from-ugly-and-poor-people/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204021629/https://techweez.com/2020/03/17/tiktok-apparently-suppresses-content-from-ugly-and-poor-people/ |archive-date=4 Dec 2020 |website=Techweez}}</ref>
|[https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6810010/pages/Ugly-Content-Policy-p1-large.gif The documents themselves]
|[https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6810010/pages/Ugly-Content-Policy-p1-large.gif The documents themselves]
|
|-
|Censorship of content talking negatively Donald Trump's government, ICE or related and update of privacy policy
|2026—
|In January 2026, TikTok's ownership was transferred to [[Oracle]]. After this transference, the privacy policy was updated.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Reece |date=23 Jan 2026 |title=TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes |url=https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-new-privacy-policy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260222090442/https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-new-privacy-policy/ |archive-date=22 Feb 2026|access-date=28 Jan 2026 |website=Wired}}</ref> Several users have reported their content that is against Donald Trump or ICE, or anything related ends up {{Wplink|Shadow banning|shadowbanned}} or flagged "to be reviewed".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collier |first=Kevin |last2=Horvath |first2=Bruna |date=26 Jan 2026 |title=TikTok censorship claims spark California probe of app's handling of anti-Trump content |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/tiktok-fixed-power-outage-not-censorship-work-views-down-rcna255964 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260219181336/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/tiktok-fixed-power-outage-not-censorship-work-views-down-rcna255964 |archive-date=19 Feb 2026|access-date=28 Jan 2026 |website=NBC News}}</ref>
|
|
|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktze-X2rG4E
|-
|Running GenAI ads without permission
|2026-present
|On 5 February 2026, Rebekah Saltsman, CEO and co-founder of Finji, a game publisher known for titles such as Tunic and Night in the Woods, made a post on Bluesky asking people to send screen captures of "Finji ads that look distinctly UN-Finji-like".<ref>https://bsky.app/profile/bexsaltsman.bsky.social/post/3me4ybayhf226 ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260221001755/https://bsky.app/profile/bexsaltsman.bsky.social/post/3me4ybayhf226 Archived])</ref> Saltsman explained how platforms were running AI versions of paid ads without the knowledge or consent of the company paying for the ads. Saltsman also explained that the company who paid for the ads has no way of seeing the AI versions of those despite the audience seeing them.
An IGN article would later come out where Saltsman detailed how TikTok was running ads that were modified to be sexualized despite Finji having all AI features turned off. Saltsman stated how Finji has no way to view, edit or disable the AI generated ads and that the only way they were made aware of the issue was through audience members.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Valentine |first=Rebekah |date=20 Feb 2026 |title=Tunic, Night in the Woods Publisher Says TikTok Is Creating and Running Racist GenAI Ads for Its Games Without Permission |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/tunic-night-in-the-woods-publisher-says-tiktok-is-creating-and-running-racist-genai-ads-for-its-games-without-permission |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260222020940/https://www.ign.com/articles/tunic-night-in-the-woods-publisher-says-tiktok-is-creating-and-running-racist-genai-ads-for-its-games-without-permission |archive-date=February 22, 2026 |access-date=23 Feb 2026 |work=IGN}}</ref>
|
|https://www.ign.com/articles/tunic-night-in-the-woods-publisher-says-tiktok-is-creating-and-running-racist-genai-ads-for-its-games-without-permission
|
|
|}
|}


===GDPR infringement Article Article 13(1)(f) & Article 46(1) GDPR (''May. 2025'')===
===GDPR infringement Article 13(1)(f) & Article 46(1) GDPR (''2025'')===
On May 2, 2025 the Irish Supervisory Authority fines TikTok a total of €530 million for infringement of Articles 13(1)(f) GDPR and Article 46(1) GDPR. The Irish Supervisory Authority (SA) has ordered TikTok to suspend the transfer of data from users in the EEA to the People’s Republic of China and to bring its processing operations into compliance with Chapter V of the GDPR within a period of 6 months.<ref>Irish Supervisory Authority fines TikTok €530 million and orders corrective measures following Inquiry into transfers of EEA User Data to China (2025, Jul, 04). edpb.europa.eu. Retrieved Aug 16, 2025, from https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2025/irish-supervisory-authority-fines-tiktok-eu530-million-and-orders-corrective_en</ref>
On 2 May 2025 the Irish Supervisory Authority fines TikTok a total of €530 million for infringement of Articles 13(1)(f) GDPR and Article 46(1) GDPR. The Irish Supervisory Authority (SA) has ordered TikTok to suspend the transfer of data from users in the EEA to the People’s Republic of China and to bring its processing operations into compliance with Chapter V of the GDPR within a period of six months.<ref>Irish Supervisory Authority fines TikTok €530 million and orders corrective measures following Inquiry into transfers of EEA User Data to China (2025, Jul, 04). edpb.europa.eu. Retrieved Aug 16, 2025, from https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2025/irish-supervisory-authority-fines-tiktok-eu530-million-and-orders-corrective_en ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260205062500/https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2025/irish-supervisory-authority-fines-tiktok-eu530-million-and-orders-corrective_en Archived])</ref>


On Friday, August 2, 2024, the US sued TikTok, and its affiliates for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), and it's rules. The DOJ alleges TikTok collected, stored, and processed large amounts of data from millions of child users on its app.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Nicole |date=5 Aug 2024 |title=U.S. Sues TikTok for Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Violations |url=https://www.hunton.com/hunton-retail-law-resource/u-s-sues-tiktok-for-childrens-online-privacy-protection-act-coppa-violations}}</ref>
On 2 August 2024, the US government sued TikTok and its affiliates for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), and its rules. The DOJ alleges TikTok collected, stored, and processed large amounts of data from millions of child users on its app.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Nicole |date=5 Aug 2024 |title=U.S. Sues TikTok for Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Violations |url=https://www.hunton.com/hunton-retail-law-resource/u-s-sues-tiktok-for-childrens-online-privacy-protection-act-coppa-violations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250814135309/https://www.hunton.com/hunton-retail-law-resource/u-s-sues-tiktok-for-childrens-online-privacy-protection-act-coppa-violations |archive-date=14 Aug 2025}}</ref>


==Downloadable and Collected Data==
==Downloadable and collected data==
From the downloadable data from the hamburger menu in the account tab > "Settings and Privacy" > "Account" > "Download your data" and selecting "TXT" file format the data collected, the provided data,  as formatted at a directory level, includes:
From the downloadable data from the hamburger menu in the account tab > "Settings and Privacy" > "Account" > "Download your data" and selecting "TXT" file format the data collected, the provided data,  as formatted at a directory level, includes:


*Your activity:
*Your activity:
**Activity Summary (Videos Shared/Watched/Commented On)
**Activity Summary (Videos Shared/Watched/Commented On)
**Ad Interests (Catagories of Ads selected as "Interested")
**Ad Interests (Categories of Ads selected as "Interested")
**Donations
**Donations
**Fundraisers
**Fundraisers
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==See also==
==See also==
*[[ByteDance]]
*[[ByteDance]]
*[[TikTok and AI-powered ad tracking]]
*[[TikTok's Privacy Policy change and increased censorship for US users]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:TikTok| ]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Social media companies]]
[[Category:Social media companies]]
Retrieved from "https://consumerrights.wiki/w/TikTok"