The Justice Department is now investigating TikTok due to a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission.

• On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has filed a complaint against TikTok with the Department of Justice.
• The agency stated that there is evidence suggesting the named suspects are in violation or are on the verge of committing a legal offense.
• The FTC was investigating TikTok over alleged faulty privacy and data security practices.

The US Department of Justice has received the complaint against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, which was referred to it by the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday.

The FTC launched an investigation into TikTok in 2019, following a settlement with Musical.ly over COPPA violations. The FTC aimed to determine if TikTok had engaged in "unfair and deceptive" business practices, in violation of federal law.

The regulator has transferred the case to the DOJ because the investigation revealed evidence that the named defendants were violating or were about to violate the law.

The FTC has decided to make public the fact that it has referred a complaint, stating that it is in the public interest to do so and that a proceeding is also in the public interest.

In a Senate hearing in January, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew stated that the company has approximately 40,000 individuals working in its trust and safety operations. However, he admitted that he was unsure about the number of minors who utilized the platform.

TikTok didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company faces other challenges in the U.S.

The U.S. government was sued by TikTok in May after President Biden signed legislation that granted ByteDance nine months to find a buyer and a three-month extension if negotiations were ongoing. If no deal was reached, the short-form video app could face a ban.

According to a legal filing, TikTok stated that the bill violates the First Amendment, and that divestiture is not feasible commercially, technologically, or legally.

— CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.

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