TikTok Class Action Lawsuit Says Kids’ Face Scans Illegally Collected

Two mothers of children who use TikTok have filed a class action lawsuit saying the popular video-sharing app violates Illinois privacy law.

Illinois parents Darcy Tellone and Katie Patterman have launched a class action lawsuit against TikTok and Bytedance Inc., saying the makers of the popular TikTok app collected and stored her children’s personal information without her consent.

In her eyes, the company should have asked for the consent of parents before collecting and storing children’s face scans, and should have provided information about how that information would be used.

Tellone explains that her children, known by their initials of NT and LT, are minors who use TikTok to record personal videos. She explains that in some cases, the videos are meant for private use.

According to Tellone, NT and LT do not remember seeing or reviewing information informing them of how the app would use the face scans — either in the form of terms of service, a privacy policy or a privacy policy for younger users. She also says that neither she nor her children recall receiving any information about these policies changing. 

Patterman is the mother of four minors who use TikTok — SP, JP, KP, and GP. She says she had a similar experience with the TikTok app, because she and her children do not remember being given the opportunity to review or consent to the collection of biometric information when her kids began using the app.

She argues that the makers of the popular TikTok app violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Tellone and Patterson assert that the companies violated the law repeatedly by unlawfully collecting and storing the personal information of many young TikTok users.

To provide background for their claims, the moms explain that TikTop is an app that lets users create and store short videos. Reportedly, one of the main attractions of the app is the option to enhance videos with audio and visual features. The users can apply various song clips, TV show moments, animations, face filters and stickers to their videos.

According to the parents, many of their fears involve the app collecting and storing users’ facial geometry. In her eyes, this facial geometry constitutes biometric information, as defined by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. She says that biometrics, such as face scans, are identifiers that are “biologically unique to the individual,” as defined by the law.

The TikTok BIPA violation class action lawsuit notes that BIPA regulates how companies can collect and store this information because of its sensitivity and importance to its owners. Identity theft is reportedly a rising problem, but becomes all the more damaging when it involves a biometric identifier stolen to access sensitive information, such as finances.

Tellone and Patterman note that the law says once a biometric identifier falls into the wrong hands, “the individual has no recourse, is at heightened risk for identity theft, and is likely to withdraw from biometric-facilitated transactions.”

The TikTok privacy violation class action lawsuit says the company does notify users that it collects information. The app also allegedly maintains a Privacy Policy for users under the age of 13, allowing for more limited information collected. However, the plaintiffs claim the app does not have an effective way of verifying the age of users.

The mothers say that because many young users register with an older age to use the app, TikTok does collect significant personal and biometric information from young users. Even in the case of users who do accurately register their age, the app supposedly collects some information. 

Though the app does maintain privacy policies, the parents contend that TikTok permits users to make accounts without their own or their guardians viewing the terms of service first.

The TikTok class action lawsuit argues that this imperils the privacy and safety of young people.

This is not the first time that TikTok has come under fire for alleged privacy issues. TikTok previously reached a $1.1 million settlement to end other users’ claims that the app collected personal information without parental consent.

Do you or your children use TikTok? If so, have you viewed the terms of service of the app? Tell us in the comments below.

The TikTok users and their parents are represented by Elizabeth A. Fegan, Melissa Ryan Clark and Jonathan D. Lindenfeld of Fegan Scott LLC.

The TikTok Privacy Violation Class Action Lawsuit is NT, et al. v. TikTok Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-03771, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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