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The popular short video app Tiktok is targeted by European consumer advocates.
The European consumer association Beuc filed a complaint about the video portal with the EU Commission and the network of national consumer protection authorities on Tuesday.
"Tiktok lets its users down by violating their rights en masse," said General Manager Monique Goyens.
"Children love Tiktok, but the company fails to protect them."
Specifically, the consumer advocates criticize, for example, that children and young people are not adequately protected from hidden advertising and potentially harmful content.
In addition, massive amounts of user data are collected, which violates the European General Data Protection Regulation.
Terms of use are unfair
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Several clauses of the terms of use are unfair.
The authorities are expected to extensively investigate the Tiktok practices and take action, Beuc said on Tuesday.
In addition, the national authorities would be urged to take action.
According to the Tiktok Terms of Use, you must be at least 13 years old to use Tiktok.
Users under the age of 18 officially require the consent of a legal guardian, but this is not actually obtained by the operators of the application.
With the app, users can record, edit and share video clips.
And although the portal actually only accepts users from the age of 13, according to the Que Choisir organization, 45 percent of under 13-year-olds in France also recently stated that they use the app.
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Tiktok is repeatedly criticized because the app is aimed primarily at younger and thus easily influenced users.
The platform recently had to change its data protection regulations for 13- to 15-year-olds after observers criticized an algorithm that favored sexualized videos.
In Italy, at the end of January, the authorities blocked Tiktok access for anyone whose minimum age could not be verified.
Previously, a ten-year-old had died in Sicily who was believed to have taken part in a dangerous tiktok game.