TikTok App Class Action Lawsuits Merged Into MDL Amid Threats of US Ban

Amid threats of a U.S. TikTok ban and a possible buyout of the app, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation this week centralized a number of class action lawsuits alleging biometric privacy violations by the video-sharing app in the Northern District of Illinois.

In its transfer order for the 10 cases, the panel found the cases involved “common questions of fact” and determined it would be more efficient to centralize them rather than have each case heard individually.

The plaintiffs involved in all the class action lawsuits accuse the TikTok app of scanning, capturing, retaining and disseminating users’ biometric information, in violation of Illinois privacy law.

Dozens of minors allege that information about their facial features, locations and contacts is collected when they use the facial filters TikTok app, according to NPR. That information is then sent to data servers in China, the plaintiffs say.

“Centralization will eliminate duplicative discovery and the possibility of inconsistent rulings on class certification and other pretrial matters, as well as conserve judicial and party resources,” the judicial panel said in its order.

Four of the 10 actions already were pending in the Northern District of Illinois, the panel said, making it a logical place to centralize the cases. One case had been pending in the Southern District of Illinois, and the remainder had been in the Northern District of California.

The panel assigned Judge John Z. Lee to preside over pretrial proceedings, noting he had already been presiding over the existing Northern District of Illinois cases.

The centralization comes at a time when the future of the TikTok app in the U.S. is uncertain.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said the U.S. was “looking at” banning the TikTok app and other Chinese social media apps, CBS News reported.

Then last week, President Donald Trump said a TikTok ban was in order in light of recent national security concerns about the app’s connections with China, according to CBS News.

“We’re banning them from the United States,” Trump said.

While the president has yet to take any official action against TikTok, he has said the app must either be sold to an American company by Sept. 15 or “close down” in the U.S., NPR reported.

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, is based in China.

TikTok is fighting the class action lawsuits.

The defendants’ attorneys say the TikTok app does not capture users’ biometric information or send data to China, according to NPR. However, they argue, the company has the right to transfer data to Beijing and that it would not be illegal for them to do so.

TikTok has previously stated that U.S. user data primarily sits on servers in Virginia, with a backup in Singapore, according to Forbes. 

In addition, the TikTok app’s terms of service include an arbitration clause, the company’s attorneys argue, meaning users agreed they can never be part of a class action lawsuit and must resolve disputes outside court, according to NPR.

However, California law states arbitration clauses don’t apply to minors. And more than 20 separate class action lawsuits have been filed against TikTok in California alone.

The class action lawsuits take varied approaches, but all allege the app collects and uses its users’ data without their express consent.

In one of the California cases, the lead plaintiff alleges the app makes money via targeted advertising, which relies on knowledge allegedly gained by the app’s collection of personal identifying information about its users.

In a similar case in Illinois, the plaintiff claims TikTok does not inform its users that their biometric information is collected and disseminated, nor does it inform them of the purpose of such collection and storage.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys have said because the collection of data can happen before a user agrees to the terms of service, users of any age should be allowed to bring a lawsuit, NPR reported.

Shortly after Trump’s ultimatum, Microsoft announced it is exploring the possibility of purchasing the app.

According to Forbes, Microsoft intends to purchase and take over the app’s operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Lawyers involved in the class action lawsuits have said a settlement is likely before a deal would go through, although Trump’s Sept. 15 deadline remains in effect for the sale.

If the case goes forward, it could mean no small expense for TikTok.

Under the Illinois biometric law the plaintiffs allege is being violated, the minimum penalty is $1,000 per instance in which identifying data was taken without a user’s consent, NPR reported. Depending on the circumstances of the theft, that penalty can go as high as $5,000 per violation.

Do you use TikTok? Are you concerned about the app being a threat to national security or collecting your data? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the Law Office of Francis J. Flynn Jr., Carey Danis & Lowe, Gibbs Law Group LLP, Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP, Bottini and Bottini Inc., Ahdoot and Wolfson, P.C., Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP, Burns Charest LLP, Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP, Girard Sharp LLP, Hausfeld LLP, Burns Charest LLP, Phillips Erlewine Given & Carlin LLP, Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, Bird Marella Boxer, DiCello Levitt & Gutzler LLC, Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP, Wehrle Law LLC, OnderLaw LLC, Stephan Zouras LLP, Tostrud Law Group PC, Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC, Carlson Lynch LLP, Lawrence Kamin Saunders & Uhlenhop, Gordon Law Offices LTD, and Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP.

The TikTok App Class Action Lawsuits are In re: TikTok Inc. Data Privacy Litigation, MDL No. 104, in the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

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