TikTok
Contents8
❗Article Status Notice: This Article is a stub
This article is underdeveloped, and needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. Learn more ▼
Issues may include:
- This article needs to be expanded to provide meaningful information
- This article requires additional verifiable evidence to demonstrate systemic impact
- More documentation is needed to establish how this reflects broader consumer protection concerns
- The connection between individual incidents and company-wide practices needs to be better established
- The article is simply too short, and lacks sufficient content
How you can help:
- Add documented examples with verifiable sources
- Provide evidence of similar incidents affecting other consumers
- Include relevant company policies or communications that demonstrate systemic practices
- Link to credible reporting that covers these issues
- Flesh out the article with relevant information
This notice will be removed once the article is sufficiently developed. Once you believe the article is ready to have its notice removed, please visit the Moderator's noticeboard, or the Discord (join here) and post to the #appeals channel, or mention its status on the article's talk page.
| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2016 |
| Product Type | Social media |
| In Production | Yes |
| Official Website | https://tiktok.com |
TikTok is a social media platform developed by the Chinese internet technology company ByteDance Ltd. The app has been cited with numerous privacy concerns that eventually led to Montana banning it in May 2023.[1]
Consumer impact summary
Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):
- User Freedom
- User Privacy
- Business Model
- Market Control
Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.
User freedom
- The app version requires an account to use the service.
User privacy
As per Privacy Policy:[2]
- Automatically collects unreasonable heaps of information to fingerprint the user:
- 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.
- "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.[3]
- 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 AI-powered analytics tool for advertisers.[4]
Extensive List of Data Collected and Downloadable by the User in the Section "Downloadable and Collected Data"
Incidents
Add one-paragraph summaries of incidents below in sub-sections, which link to each incident's main article while linking to the main article and including a short summary. It is acceptable to create an incident summary before the main page for an incident has been created. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.
If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see Amazon for an example).
Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.
| Incident | Year | Background Info | Aftermath | Related Article | Related Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violations of Children's Privacy Laws | 2019— | 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 (COPPA). The companies knowingly allowed children under 13 to make accounts and unlawfully collected data and personal information of said children without parental consent.[5] | 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 | |
| Suppressing "ugly", poor, or disabled creators | 2020— | 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"[6] | A TikTok spokesperson stated that the guidelines were "an early blunt attempt at preventing bullying but are no longer in place"[7] | 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.[8] Several users have reported their content that is against Donald Trump or ICE, or anything related ends up shadowbanned or flagged "to be reviewed".[9] | 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".[10] 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.[11] |
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 13(1)(f) & Article 46(1) GDPR (2025)
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.[12]
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.[13]
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:
- Your activity:
- Activity Summary (Videos Shared/Watched/Commented On)
- Ad Interests (Categories of Ads selected as "Interested")
- Donations
- Fundraisers
- Hashtags (Used in public videos)
- Instant Form Ads Responses (Details inputted on forms on the bottom of some ads)
- Login History (Date, Time, IP, Device Model, Device System (OS), Network Type (Wi-Fi or Cellular), Carrier when opening app)*
- Most Recent Location Data (GPS Location, Local Time and Region, if 'Location' permission enabled)*
- Off TikTok Activity (Partner Apps Opened (e.g. eBay, Spotify, W3W)
- Purchaces (LIVE Gifts Given/Recieved)
- Searches (Timestamped Search History)
- Share History (Videos Shared Off-App)
- Status (App Version, Screen Resolution, Advertising ID and Device ID)*
- Watch History (Timestamped Watch History)
- Profile and Settings
- AI-Moji (Unsure)
- Autofill (Autofill of Instant Form Ads prompts with personal info)
- Block List (Time stamped list of users blocked)
- Follower (Time stamped list of who has followed you, including users with private following lists)
- Following (Time stamped list of who you have followed)
- Profile Information (Profile Photo, Profile Video, Username, Phone No., Email, Bio, Birthday, Gender, Likes Recieved, 3rd Party App connections (e.g. Google)
- Settings (User-Readable Config File of TikTok account settings)
- TikTok LIVE
- Go LIVE History
- Go LIVE Settings
- Watch LIVE History
- Watch LIVE Settings
- TikTok Shop
- Product Browsing History (Timestamped history of viewed items, and what shop sells the item)
- Product Reviews
- Return and Refunds History
- Saved Address Information
- Shopping Cart List
- Vouchers (Timestamps of vouchers offered/used)
- Communication With Shops (DMs to shops from the "Message Seller" option in TikTok Shop)
- Current Payment Information (Censored Debit/Credit Card Details linked to TikTok Shop Account)
- Customer Support History
- Order Dispute History
- Order History
- Comments (Every Comment ever left on ANY video)
- Direct Messages (Every DM sent either way)
- Income+ Wallet (Creator Rewards Wallet)
- Likes and Favourites
- Favourite:
- Effects
- Hashtags
- Sounds
- Videos
- Like List (Every Video Liked)
- Favourite:
- Location Reviews
- Posts
- Posts (Every Posted Video with sound, settings and timestamp)
- Recently Deleted Posts
*Collected on App Open
See also
- ByteDance
- TikTok and AI-powered ad tracking
- TikTok's Privacy Policy change and increased censorship for US users
References
- ↑ Archie, Ayana (18 May 2023). "Montana becomes the first state to ban TikTok". NPR. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 13 Aug 2025.
- ↑ "Privacy Policy". TikTok. Archived from the original on 16 Aug 2025. Retrieved 14 Aug 2025.
- ↑ Krause, Felix (18 Aug 2022). "iOS Privacy: Announcing InAppBrowser.com - see what JavaScript commands get injected through an in-app browser". Archived from the original on 18 Aug 2022. Retrieved 14 Aug 2025.
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.
- ↑ Sato, Mia (3 Jun 2025). "TikTok will give advertisers even more data on trends and users". The Verge. Archived from the original on 3 Jun 2025. Retrieved 25 Jun 2025.
- ↑ "Justice Department Sues TikTok and Parent Company ByteDance for Widespread Violations of Children's Privacy Laws". Justice.gov. 2 Aug 2024. Archived from the original on 9 Feb 2025.
- ↑ Biddle1 Ribero2 Dias3, Sam1 Paulo Victor2 Tatiana3 (16 Mar 2020). "Invisible Censorship". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 16 Mar 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Itimu, Kiruti (17 Mar 2020). "TikTok Apparently Suppressed Content From Ugly or Poor People". Techweez. Archived from the original on 4 Dec 2020.
- ↑ Rogers, Reece (23 Jan 2026). "TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes". Wired. Archived from the original on 22 Feb 2026. Retrieved 28 Jan 2026.
- ↑ Collier, Kevin; Horvath, Bruna (26 Jan 2026). "TikTok censorship claims spark California probe of app's handling of anti-Trump content". NBC News. Archived from the original on 19 Feb 2026. Retrieved 28 Jan 2026.
- ↑ https://bsky.app/profile/bexsaltsman.bsky.social/post/3me4ybayhf226 (Archived)
- ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (20 Feb 2026). "Tunic, Night in the Woods Publisher Says TikTok Is Creating and Running Racist GenAI Ads for Its Games Without Permission". IGN. Archived from the original on February 22, 2026. Retrieved 23 Feb 2026.
- ↑ 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 (Archived)
- ↑ Johnson, Nicole (5 Aug 2024). "U.S. Sues TikTok for Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Violations". Archived from the original on 14 Aug 2025.