TikTok Users, Families Urge Court Not to Drop Privacy Case Against the Platform
Kids and their guardians on Wednesday urged the U.S. District Court for Central California to continue pursuing a class-action complaint against TikTok alleging the social media platform invaded the privacy of users younger than 13, a violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and other laws. TikTok filed a motion to dismiss on Jan. 29 on the basis that the plaintiffs never identified what personal information was collected from them, or how that caused them harm.
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“TikTok has profited off the systemic invasion of privacy of millions of children in the United States under the age of 13,” said the plaintiffs. “This conduct violates privacy rights that Plaintiffs and absent class members enjoy over their Personal Information, as well as numerous statutes that protect individuals from unfair business practices.”
The plaintiffs said in their opposition to dismiss that their complaint included that TikTok collected information about web pages viewed, search terms entered and purchase behavior, which sufficiently asserts personal information. They also said other cases with minors alleging COPPA violations have contained similar allegations of intrusion. In addition, the plaintiffs said they successfully alleged injury in their complaint when they showed they were not compensated for their personal information, among other economic harms.
The complaint in case 24-06784 was filed in August 2024, and alleged that TikTok collected and used the personal information of children without notifying or gaining consent from their parents, in violation of COPPA, despite an injunction from doing so resulting from a Department of Justice lawsuit in 2019. The complaint also alleges violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act for the class members in Washington state.
Judge Otis Wright set an April 28 hearing for the case.