TikTok issued with €1.5 billion damage claim for violating childrens' privacy

A consumer group in the Netherlands has threatened Chinese social media app TikTok with a lawsuit, over alleged data privacy violations against children.

The non-profit group Consumentenbond and the Take Back Your Privacy Foundation allege that TikTok closely monitors the activities of more than 1 million Dutch children, and collects their personal data without permission.

The data collected includes videos, photos, users' profile information and location data, among other things, the consumer group claimed. It also said that the app records the content children watch on the app.

'TikTok uses this personal data to earn billions in profits through targeted ad sales,' Consumentenbond noted. The organisation also accused TikTok of transferring users' personal data outside the EU without having appropriate safeguards in place for data protection.

The Consumentenbond and the Take Back Your Privacy Foundation are now seeking €1.5 billion (about £1.3 billion) in compensation from TikTok, for neglecting the safety and privacy of children. They are also demanding that TikTok delete the childrens' illegally collected personal data, and comply with the law going forward.

If TikTok does not comply with their demands, the goups say they will file a legal challenge.

"The conduct of TikTok is pure exploitation," Sandra Molenaar, director of the Consumentenbond, said.

She accused TikTok of earning hundreds of millions per year - largely thanks to young peoples' engagement - while neglecting privacy laws that prescribe additional protection for children.

"TikTok has turned children into a product," she added.

In a statement to the Associated Press, TikTok said that it was 'committed to engage with external experts and organisations to make sure we're doing what we can to keep people on TikTok safe.'

TikTok, known as Douyin in China, is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance. The app is immensely popular among teenagers, who use it to watch and share short videos.

It is not the first time that the TikTok has come under fire over its data practices.

In April, Anne Longfield, the former children's commissioner for England, launched legal proceedings against TikTok on behalf of 3.5 million European children, alleging that the app breached data protection rules by collecting their personal data, without warning or guardian consent.

TikTok's policies in the UK require a child to be above 13 to use the app. Those downloading the app are asked to input their age when they join.

In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a $5.7 million (£4.2 million) fine on ByteDance to settle allegations that Musical.ly (which ByteDance bought in 2017 and renamed TikTok) illegally collected information from children under 13.

In February, ByteDance agreed to pay $92 million (about £66 million) in a settlement to US users who alleged in their class-action lawsuit that the TikTok failed to get their consent to collect data in breach of a strict Illinois privacy law.