The TikTok age-gating lawsuit is begging for a new owner: Why Do we need a public information service? And how Do We Stand against it?

The lawsuit says that Tik Tok’s age-gating techniques are deficient in multiple ways. Under an earlier practice, TikTok would let users restart the account creation process even if they had initially entered a birthday showing they were 13 years old. The DOJ said that TikTok used to allow users to log in through Facebook, which would make their accounts “age unknown.”

But the case against TikTok also falls into the US government’s escalating battle with the service, whose ownership by China-based ByteDance has drawn national security concerns. China exploiting TikTok to spread propaganda and gather data on vulnerable Americans is a concern for some US officials. TikTok is fighting a law that requires it to look for a new owner.

Lawsuits over alleged violations of children’s privacy are almost a rite of passage for social platforms these days, with companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Epic Games collectively having paid hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.