The TikTok logo will be displayed outside the company’s headquarters in Culver City, California, USA on September 15, 2020. REUTERS / Mike Blake / File Photo
TikTok, the hugely popular video app, and its Chinese parent ByteDance could face a multibillion-dollar ($) damages claim in London High Court over allegations that they illegally harvested the private data of millions of European children.
Anne Longfield, the former commissioner for children in England and the so-called ‘litigation friend’, or public face, of an annoying 12-year-old girl who leads the class action, said on Wednesday that children affected could receive thousands of pounds each as a claim is successful.
Longfield claims that every child who has been using TikTok since May 25, 2018 may have illegally collected personal information through ByteDance through TikTok for the benefit of unknown third parties.
“Parents and children have the right to know that private information, including telephone numbers, physical location and videos of their children, is being collected illegally,” she said.
A TikTok representative said that privacy and security are the company’s top priorities and that it has robust policies, processes and technologies to help protect all users, especially teen users.
“We believe the claims are not meritorious and intend to vigorously defend the action,” the representative said.
TikTok is one of the world’s most popular programs – especially among young people – and has about 100 million users in Europe alone. The COVID-19 pandemic, which locks up many children at home, has helped its success.
However, the plaintiffs, advised by the law firm Scott & Scott, allege that TikTok violated the protection laws of the United Kingdom and the European Union by processing the youth’s data without adequate security measures, transparency, consent of guardians or legal interest.
The claim requires the company to remove all children’s personal information, stating that damages could amount to ‘billions of pounds’ if successful.
Such “American-style” opt-out actions for privacy, which automatically bind a defined group to a lawsuit, are not uncommon in Britain.
The case has been adjourned pending a ruling by the UK Supreme Court in a case against internet giant Google (GOOGL.O) over alleged illegal detection of iPhone users in 2011 and 2012 through third-party cookies.
This case will be heard next week.
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