As the U.S. government continues to scrutinize the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, an investigation from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may soon lead to legal action against the app.

American lawmakers have been concerned about TikTok for some time now, citing serious national security concerns over the Chinese-owned app’s surveillance of American user data, as well as the effect TikTok has had on American youth. It has been proven that TikTok has spied on American journalists, with many noting that as a Chinese company, TikTok is forced by law to share all information it gathers with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The app has also been proven to be pushing dangerous ideologies on children and teenagers.

TikTok is rotting kids’ brains and convincing young girls to mutilate themselves. There are few things more dangerous than that platform. https://t.co/laPdoDao9C

— Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) November 24, 2023

Amid these concerns, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been pushing the U.S. to ban TikTok entirely or force the company to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and be sold to an American company.

Meanwhile, the FTC has been investigating TikTok over allegations that the Chinese-owned company violated federal law regarding data and security practices. This investigation is based on alleged violations of a federal law prohibiting “unfair and deceptive” business practices, as well as violations of provisions of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

The massive gap between TikTok’s external user policy (which makes a blanket promise that the CCP does not access US data) and its actual internal practices warrant a thorough FTC investigation & likely amount to a breach of the Unfair & Deceptive Practices Clause of the FTC Act. https://t.co/csxyrH39nf

— Jacob Helberg (@jacobhelberg) March 26, 2024

In the probe, the government regulatory agency seeks to determine whether TikTok had lied to government officials in its claim that user data was not being shared with Chinese entities — as numerous whistleblowers have contended that TikTok’s supposed data protections are a sham, declaring that Americans’ data was still being accessed in China.

https://twitter.com/alx/status/1638997959420399621

The FTC is also investigating whether TikTok is violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires parental consent for the use of applications for minors under the age of 13. A similar law was recently signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), strengthening these rules by requiring all social media companies to obtain parental consent for users under 14 years of age.

Governor Ron DeSantis Signs HB3 to Protect Children from the Harms of Social Media https://t.co/9nylhaOIXI

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 25, 2024

The FTC has announced that the TikTok investigation is nearing its end, noting that they would soon decide whether to recommend a lawsuit against the company. If the government regulatory agency chooses to recommend the lawsuit, President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice must decide within 45 days whether to actually pursue legal action.