TikTok Users, Parents Urge Judge to Approve $1.1M Settlement in Data Use Class Action

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TikTok Data Use Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: TikTok has agreed to pay $1.1 million to end a class action lawsuit. 
• Why: If approved, the class action settlement would end claims TikTok data use included information from minors. 
• Where: The TikTok data use class action lawsuit is pending in Illinois federal court. 

Around six million parents and children have urged a Illinois federal judge to approve a $1.1 million settlement with social video app TikTok that would end a class action lawsuit accusing the company of collecting and sharing children’s personal data without parental consent.

The TikTok users previously called on U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakely to approve the settlement in March, but he refused saying that the claim submission deadlines had not been posted, Law360 reports.

Now, the users are arguing that the deadlines were extended and because of that and additional advertising, an extra 86,316 claims had been filed.

“By utilizing digital ads placed through the same ad network used by Defendants’ App., additional digital ads targeting the proposed settlement class demographic, and supplementing that notice with a Settlement website and toll-free telephone number, the parties ensured that notice comported with due process and protected all Class Members’ rights,” the motion for approval reads.

TikTok Data Includes Info From Minors

The class action lawsuit was first filed in 2019 alleging that TikTok violated children’s privacy and put them in danger by collecting their email addresses, phone numbers, usernames, first and last names, bios, and photos of its users – many who were under 13 years old. 

The plaintiffs, minors and their parents, claimed that although users could make their profiles private, their photos and other data remained publicly searchable.

The $1.1 million TikTok data use class action settlement was reached not long after the class action lawsuit was filed, but Judge Blakely refused to approve it until the deadline for class members to submit a claim had been extended due to the pandemic. 

After delays in extending the deadline, the TikTok users are now saying their 194,000 filed claims are ready for approval – although that number is expected to drop to 168,607 after duplicates and fraudulent claims are disposed of, Law360 reports.

The Class Members are expected to get around $3 each, issued through PayPal, and counsel will take home $200,000.

Class counsel says in the settlement motion that continued litigation would involve extensive motion practice, including motions to compel arbitration, motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment, and ultimately a trial on the merits.

“Plaintiffs would also have to both gain and maintain class certification. Instead of facing the uncertainty of a potential award in their favor years from now, the Settlement allows Plaintiffs and Settlement Class Members to receive immediate and certain relief.”

The TikTok users and parents also believe that the settlement — which partly arises out of COPPA violations and involves the unlawful collection of children’s personally identifiable information and viewing data without parental consent — represents the first settlement of its kind, according to the motion.

“Plaintiffs therefore believe it is a landmark class action settlement in that respect. Accordingly, under the circumstances, including the uncertainties involved in proceeding with the litigation, the Parties believe the monetary terms of this proposed settlement fall favorably within the range of related privacy class action settlements, and should be approved.”

Do you use TikTok? Tell us if you’ve ever had concerns about how the company uses your data in the comments section below!

The plaintiffs are represented by Gary M. Klinger and Gary E. Mason of Mason Leitz & Klinger LLP.

The TikTok Child Data Use Class Action Lawsuit is T.K. et al., v. ByteDance Technology Co. Ltd. et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-07915 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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