The application TikTok is fined for illegal collection of data from minors

The application of Chinese video sharing TikTok is arranged to pay a fine of $ 5.7 million to the US authorities to settle the charges of illegal collection of personal information about minors.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stated that the trouble for the social network known as Musical.ly was the biggest in a survey on the privacy of children.

The social network, which is gaining popularity among younger users of smartphones, even more than competitors such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, did not have the consent of the parents of their minor users, according to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), said officials of the FTC.

"Musical.ly operators, now known as TikTok, they knew that many children were using the application, but they still have not requested parental consent before collecting names, e-mail addresses and other personal information from users under the age of 13, "said FTC President Joe Simons.

"This record penalty should be a reminder for all online services and websites that target children: we take COPPA compliance very seriously, and we will not tolerate companies that blatantly ignore the law"

TikTok had about 500 million users worldwide last year, making it one of the most popular apps in the world.

Owned by ByteDance in China, he expanded his presence in the United States with the merger with Musical.ly. Teens have flocked to the service, which allows them to create and share 15-second videos.

According to the FTC, the company asked users to provide an email address, a phone number, a user name, first and last name, a short biography and a profile picture.

The Consumer Protection Regulator has stated that 65 million accounts were registered in the United States.

The authorities claimed that the company knew that many of its users were under the age of 13 and should have taken greater precautions. TikTok has also been criticized worldwide for presenting badually suggestive content inappropriate for children.