07:55 AM EDT, 06/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates to add details and responses from DOJ and FTC.)

The US Department of Justice is dropping one of its two proposed claims against TikTok, opting to focus on the privacy of children over allegations that the social-media platform misled consumers regarding their data security, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The department is planning to file a consumer protection lawsuit against TikTok later this year on behalf of the US Federal Trade Commission, which gave a referral with two parts, Bloomberg reported, citing the people.

The Justice Department plans to drop the part that accuses TikTok of deceiving US consumers by failing to inform them that employees of ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, in Beijing would have access to their personal and financial information, the report said.

The agency will proceed with allegations that the company violated Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits the collection of data about children under the age of 13, according to the report.

The Justice Department and the FTC declined to comment to MT Newswires.

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