TikTok Under Lawsuit Heat For Collecting Children’s Data

The video platform TikTok is now confronted with a lawsuit that could not only lead to enormous liability for damages, but also to a serious loss of image – because it is about the massive violation of children’s rights.

The minors enjoy special legal protection due to the fact that they are not yet able to fully assess the consequences of their own activities. This also or especially applies to the personal data that you inevitably leave behind when you use Internet services. Basically, all social networks are problematic in this regard, but TikTok is said to have taken it particularly far.

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At least that’s how Anne Longfield sees it, according to a BBC report drives forward. The woman is England’s former child commissioner. The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of all children who have used TikTok since May 25, 2018 – which therefore not only includes adolescents from England or the United Kingdom, but those from all over the EU, of which they were still a member at the time.

High advertising revenue

The network with roots in China is accused of storing sensitive information about the children – including phone numbers, videos, locations, and biometric data – without the necessary legal bases or parental consent. The data is comprehensively evaluated for the marketing and advertising, with which the operator ByteDance recorded billions in revenue last year.

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Of course, his lawyers deny the allegations. The protection of the privacy of the users is always the top priority, especially when it comes to underage users, it said on the part of the company. Theoretically, it is possible to claim damages in the four-digit range for each affected user, which could mean a total of several billion euros.