Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
TikTok content, data sharing overview:
- Who: Indiana has sued TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
- Why: Two lawsuits allege TikTok deceived users about how their data is shared with the Chinese government and that the app is unsafe for children.
- Where: The TikTok content and data sharing lawsuit was filed in an Indiana state court.
Indiana has become the first U.S. state to sue TikTok, filing two lawsuits against the video-sharing app.
The lawsuits allege the company has been dishonest with users about the Chinese government’s access to their personal data, and that the app has exposed children to dangerous content.
In two separate complaints filed Dec. 7 in Indiana state court, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita alleges TikTok Inc. and its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. have violated state privacy laws.
“The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users,” Rokita said in a statement.
“With this pair of lawsuits, we hope to force TikTok to stop its false, deceptive and misleading practices, which violate Indiana law.”
TikTok content, data-sharing lawsuits allege deceptive business practices
The first lawsuit alleges TikTok lured children onto the platform through a variety of misleading representations indicating that the app contains only “infrequent/mild” sexual content, profanity or drug references.
The lawsuit alleges that, in reality, the app is rife with extreme examples of such material.
“An essential part of TikTok’s business model is presenting the application as safe and appropriate for children ages 13 to 17,” Rokita says.
The second lawsuit asserts TikTok has “reams” of highly sensitive data and personal information about Indiana consumers and has deceived those consumers into believing this information is protected from the Chinese government and Communist Party.
While TikTok “vacuums up reams” of highly sensitive and personal information about Indiana consumers, the class action alleges, the company deceives and misleads them about the risks the app routinely poses to their data.
“The Chinese Government and Communist Party have a demonstrated interest in the kind of data that TikTok collects on its users, which they can use to spy on, blackmail, and coerce those users, or to further develop China’s artificial intelligence capabilities, or for any number of other purposes that serve China’s national security and economic interests, at the expense of Indiana consumers,” the lawsuit says.
Indiana seeks a permanent injunction compelling TikTok to cease its allegedly misleading statements about the risk of the Chinese government accessing and exploiting consumers’ data. It also seeks civil penalties against the company.
In a class action filed in November, TikTok is accused of having secretly amassed “massive amounts” of highly invasive information and data about its millions of users by tracking their activities on third-party websites.
What do you think of these two lawsuits lodged against TikTok? Let us know in the comments.
The state is represented by Scott L. Barnhart, Cory Voight and Betsy M. DeNardi of Indiana’s attorney general’s office and David H. Thompson, Pete Patterson, Brian W. Barnes, Megan M. Wold, John Tienken and DeLisa L. Ragsdale of Cooper & Kirk PLLC.
The Indiana TikTok lawsuits are State of Indiana v. TikTok Inc., et al., Case Nos. 02D02-2212-PL-000400 and 02D03-2212-PL-000401, in the Superior Court of Allen County.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru vehicle data collection class action lawsuit investigation
May 17, 2024 | Legal News
