The Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department are probing allegations TikTok failed to delete videos and personal information about users age 13 and younger as it had agreed to do, among other violations.

Technology took centre stage in 2015 as massive hacking scandals, viral hashtags and consumer products dominated headlines. But not every tech story received the coverage it deserved.

An international project analyzed 1,494 websites and apps around the world and found 67 per cent collected children's personal information and 50 per cent shared that information with other organizations.