Newswise — WASHINGTON (August 5, 2024) – The U.S. Department of Justice sued the social media app TikTok and its parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children's privacy. According to Reuters, “the government said TikTok violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act that requires services aimed at children to obtain parental consent to collect personal information from users under age 13.”
The lawsuit is another step the Biden administration has taken to crack down on the social media platform, amid fears the Chinese-owned platform is improperly collecting vast amounts of Americans’ data. The platform is also currently fighting a new law that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. assets by Jan. 19 or face a ban.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary regarding the latest update on this case. To schedule an interview with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].
Susan Ariel Aaronson, research professor of international affairs, is a co-principal investigator with the NSF -NIST Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS), where she leads research on data and AI governance. She is also the director of the GW Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub, which educates policy makers, the press and the public about data governance and data-driven change. Her expertise includes international trade, data governance, human rights, AI, XR and other data driven technologies.
Lorenzo Norris, is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief wellness officer at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Lorien Abroms is a professor of prevention and community health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She has studied how social media and digital communication technology can be used for health promotion. She can also talk about the potential for negative impact on teens and young adults. She is the founding director of Behavioral Research Insights and DiGital Health Technology Institute.
Vikram R. Bhargava is an assistant professor of strategic management & public policy. His research centers around the distinctive ethics and policy issues that technology gives rise to in organizational contexts. He’s interested in topics including technology addiction, mass social media outrage, artificial intelligence, and other topics related to technology policy and ethics. Bhargava’s paper, "Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction", dives into why scholars, policy makers, and the managers of social media companies should treat social media addiction as a serious moral problem.
Mohana Mukherjee is a sociologist specializing in crime, cyber-criminology, and youth conflict. With over a decade of experience in the field of sociology, particularly in the realm of crime and deviance, she has undertaken comprehensive research on a wide array of subjects. Her research pursuits cover a range of themes, including investigations into school bullying, youth conflict dynamics, the intricate interplay between sexual assault and criminal conduct, as well as cyber-criminology with a specific focus on cyberbullying and image-based sexual harassment.
Aram Gavoor, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Professorial Lecturer in Law; Professor (by courtesy), Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration at the George Washington University Law School. Dean Gavoor is an internationally recognized scholar in national security, American administrative law, and federal courts. He previously served as Senior Counsel for National Security in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Alicia Solow-Niederman, Associate Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School. Solow-Niederman is an expert in the intersection of law and technology. Her research focuses on how to regulate emerging technologies, such as AI with an emphasis on algorithmic accountability, data governance and information privacy. Solow-Niederman is a member of the EPIC Advisory Board and has written and taught in privacy law, government use of AI and the likes.
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