TikTok settles biometric privacy lawsuit for $92 Million!
DDP previously reported on a $1.1 million dollar settlement by TikTok for unlawfully collecting and abusing the data of minors. Now, a Chicago federal court has granted approval of a $92 million cash settlement on behalf of users of the TikTok app, and its predecessor app Musical.ly.
The claims concerned TikTok's wrongful collection of users’ biometric information and private data, and the subsequent disclosure of that data to third parties in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, and other consumer and privacy protection laws.
Biometric identifiers are physiological traits such as fingerprints, facial patterns, or voice cadence that are used to verify a user’s identity. As DDP previously reported with respect to the $650 million dollar settlement by Facebook, the collection of this type of information is against the law in Illinois. Ekwan Rhow, a partner at Bird Marella, affirmed that "this settlement is one of the largest ever achieved, in a consumer BIPA case, and one of the largest settlements in a privacy class action." He continued, "It serves as a reminder, to corporations, that privacy is important and that they will be held accountable for violating consumers’ rights."
In addition to the cash settlement, TikTok will also (1) initiate a newly designed data privacy compliance training program for all TikTok employees and contractors, and (2) make disclosures to consumers under certain circumstances.
At this point, it is unclear exactly how much money each claimant will receive; there is a complicated formula for Illinois residents as compared to non-Illinois residents. The amount of money each claimant ultimately receives will depend on the number of people who submit claims.
Whether you are one of the 89 Million Tiktok users or know someone who is, it's worth it to stay informed of this story so you can make a claim to this settlement and get what is rightfully deserved for your data.
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