Federal regulators fined social media app Musical.ly — now known as TikTok — $5.7 million for illegally collecting the names, email addresses, pictures and locations of kids under age 13, a record penalty for violations of the nation’s child privacy law. The TikTok app, like Musical.ly before it, allows users to make videos of themselves lip-syncing to millions of songs, including from children’s movies, and is broadly popular among adults and children. The illegal data collection alleged by the FTC predates the merger with Musica.ly and, according to TikTok officials, is no longer in practice. The original Musical.ly app required users provide their names, email addresses and phone numbers and post a profile picture. “We care deeply about the safety and privacy of our users,” TikTok said.

Source: Washington Post February 27, 2019 19:14 UTC