Accessibility links

Breaking News

ByteDance Agrees to $92 Million Privacy Settlement with US TikTok Users


FILE - Women wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus chat as they pass by the headquarters of ByteDance, owners of TikTok, in Beijing, China, Aug. 7, 2020.
FILE - Women wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus chat as they pass by the headquarters of ByteDance, owners of TikTok, in Beijing, China, Aug. 7, 2020.

ByteDance has agreed to a $92 million class-action settlement over data privacy claims from some U.S. TikTok users, according to documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Illinois.

ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the short video app that has more than 100 million U.S. users, agreed to the settlement after more than a year of litigation.

"While we disagree with the assertions, rather than go through lengthy litigation, we'd like to focus our efforts on building a safe and joyful experience for the TikTok community," TikTok said Thursday. The settlement still requires court approval.

FILE - A man opens social media app TikTok on his cellphone, in Islamabad, Pakistan, July 21, 2020.
FILE - A man opens social media app TikTok on his cellphone, in Islamabad, Pakistan, July 21, 2020.

The lawsuits claimed the TikTok app "infiltrates its users' devices and extracts a broad array of private data including biometric data and content that defendants use to track and profile TikTok users for the purpose of, among other things, ad targeting and profit."

The settlement was reached after "an expert-led inside look at TikTok's source code" and extensive mediation efforts, according to the motion seeking approval of the settlement.

Separately, in Washington the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department are looking into allegations that TikTok failed to live up to a 2019 agreement aimed at protecting children's privacy.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG