Washington (August 2, 2024) -- Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Representatives Tim Walberg (MI-05) and Kathy Castor (FL-14) today applauded the Department of Justice (DOJ) for filing a complaint against TikTok for potential violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the FTC's 2019 settlement with TikTok for violations of COPPA. In July, the lawmakers sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to act expeditiously on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) referral of a complaint against TikTok for those alleged violations.

“We commend the Justice Department for moving quickly to hold TikTok accountable for its disregard of children on its platform,” said the lawmakers. “The allegations in the complaint are outrageous. With TikTok already under an FTC consent decree due to COPPA violations, it is deeply concerning that the company is still violating children’s privacy. That is unacceptable. This lawsuit demonstrates that COPPA remains critical for protecting children’s online privacy, and further makes clear the need for Congress to extend these protections to teenagers and modernize COPPA by passing our COPPA 2.0 legislation.”

In July 2024, the U.S. Senate passed COPPA 2.0, as part of the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, by a vote of 91-3. In April 2024, Representative Tim Walberg (MI-05) and Representative Kathy Castor (FL-14) introduced the House companion to COPPA 2.0. In February 2024, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, agreed to cosponsor COPPA 2.0. In July 2023, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee unanimously passed COPPA 2.0.

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