A number of families have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Chinese social networking platform TikTok for allegedly stealing data and sending information over to its home country.
Among the information supposedly compromised and breached by the social networking app are facial biometric data, locations, contact details, and many others, reports NPR.
Approximately 70 minor TikTok users have come forward accusing TikTok of its unethical data-collecting practices and sending it to Chinese servers. Besides mining data, while the app is running, the lawsuit alleges TikTok of collecting data upon downloading the app and even when the program is not being used.
The lawsuit also maintains that the video-sharing program saves videos taken by the user, even though the user did not upload or save the clip. All the aforementioned practices by the app reportedly violate the law for failing to get user consent.
Digital Trends states that within the past year, around 20 similar lawsuits have been filed in both California and Illinois, where data consent waivers are required to be given prior to using a person’s personal information.
The 20 or so individual lawsuits have since been compiled into one massive class-action lawsuit against the video-sharing app. According to NPR, the families are seeking a settlement of $650 million. Should the court grant in favor of the class-action lawsuit, the TikTok payout is slated to exceed that of Facebook’s.
Representatives from the Chinese-based firm denied the allegations brought forward in the class-action lawsuit, saying the app does not capture users’ biometric information nor send over data to China.
At the same time, NPR states that the legal counsel for TikTok mentioned that should the company wish to transfer its data to Beijing, the company would not be violating any data privacy laws.
In a statement, TikTok legal counsel Attorney Tony Weibell said, “The App’s privacy policy also fully discloses that user data will be shared with TikTok’s corporate affiliates and third-party business partners and service providers, as is standard with free social networking apps that have a business model based on advertising.”
Moreover, representatives for the video-sharing platform states that the case should be thrown out following user agreement on its terms of service. However, NPR notes that the law in California does not apply to minors using the app.
Apart from the case filed by the families, TikTok is undergoing a series of legal battles. Following the political rift between the US and China, President Donald Trump and his administration have classified the program as a national threat because its parent company is based in China.
