CapCut privacy lawsuit against TikTok owner ByteDance can go ahead, judge rules

UPDATE: 

• The CapCut app is a popular video editing tool with more than 200 million monthly active users. The plaintiffs say they were able to use the app without agreeing to a privacy policy and were not aware that ByteDance would collect and disclose their personal data without their consent.
• An Illinois federal judge allowed claims to proceed, alleging TikTok owner ByteDance illegally collected, stored and disclosed the biometric information of consumers using its CapCut video editing app.
• On March 3, Illinois Judge Georgia N. Alexakis ruled that privacy allegations against ByteDance could go ahead while dismissing a claim brought under the Video Privacy Protection Act.
• Alexakis found that the consumers sufficiently alleged violations of their privacy rights under the California Constitution as well as claims of intrusion upon seclusion, larceny and conversion under California law.

ByteDance class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Evelia Rodriguez, Erikka Wilson, and a 14-year-old girl referred to as A.N. have filed a class action lawsuit against ByteDance and related defendants.
• Why: ByteDance allegedly collects data from CapCut app users and discloses sensitive information to the Chinese government.
• Where: The ByteDance class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

ByteDance is facing a class action lawsuit alleging its CapCut app collected, stored, and disclosed users’ biometric information in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The CapCut app is a popular video editing application with more than 200 million monthly active users and is “experiencing exponential growth,” the ByteDance class action lawsuit explains. The app is reportedly one of the most popular apps for mobile devices in the world.

ByteDance is a Chinese company that was founded in 2012. It has ties to the Chinese government, and recently came under scrutiny for allegedly failing to protect user data, the ByteDance class action lawsuit says.

ByteDance also owns the TikTok app, the use of which has been banned on government-issued phones by the U.S. military branches and several state governments due to privacy concerns.

Plaintiffs Evelia Rodriguez, Erikka Wilson, and a 14-year-old girl referred to as A.N. filed the ByteDance class action lawsuit July 28 in Illinois federal court. They say they were able to use the app without agreeing to a privacy policy and were not aware that ByteDance would collect and disclose their personal data without their consent.

ByteDance class action says CapCut app may be used to conduct surveillance of users

The ByteDance class action lawsuit alleges the defendants “have a track record of failing to protect the privacy of the data of users of their apps and of violating their privacy rights.”

The plaintiffs claim that ByteDance has a legal obligation to share information with the Chinese government. The ByteDance class action lawsuit suggests that the CapCut app may be used to conduct surveillance of users without their knowledge or consent. 

“Users’ data may be utilized for various purposes, including tracking users by age, gender, location, operating system, and interest in order to attract marketing and ad sales,” the ByteDance class action lawsuit alleges.

With this user data, ByteDance can improve their platform in a way that enables its clients to “target demographics with precision.”

The ByteDance class action lawsuit seeks to prevent the defendants from transmitting CapCut app user data, including biometric identifiers, to China without the users’ knowledge and consent.

Last year, ByteDance was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it planned to discreetly collect the physical locations of specific TikTok users in the United States.

Do you use the CapCut app? Tell us what you think of the ByteDance class action lawsuit in the comments!

The plaintiffs are represented by Steve W. Berman and Jeannie Evans of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Douglas Smith of Aurelius Law Group LLC.

The CapCut app class action lawsuit is Evelia Rodriguez, et al. v. ByteDance Inc., et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-04953, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Judge cites lengthy concerns with artists’ AI class action but allows revision
• Meta class action claims company’s drive for profit entraps teens, damages mental health
• Twitter threatens to hit Meta with a lawsuit over Threads
• Judge blocks Biden admin from working with social media to combat disinformation