The Federal Trade Commission has filed a civil action against the Santa Monica-based operator of the Sendit anonymous messaging app, alleging in federal court that the company unlawfully collected personal data from children and “tricked” users into purchasing paid subscriptions, according to court papers obtained Tuesday. The complaint, filed Monday in L.A. federal court, contends that Iconic Hearts Holdings Inc. and its chief executive, Hunter Rice, violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The complaint alleged that Iconic Hearts knew that numerous Sendit users were under the age of 13 but failed to comply with the COPPA rule. For example, in 2022, more than 116,000 users reported their age as under 13 while using Sendit, according to the complaint. The FTC contends that Iconic Hearts also received complaints from parents who indicated that their children were under 13.