The video platform was accused of collecting biometric data without consent.
TikTok has agreed to pay a proposed $92 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging the company invaded user privacy. The settlement, if approved, would lay to rest claims that the video content-sharing app, owned by Beijing-headquartered ByteDance, wrongfully collected the private and biometric data of users including teenagers and minors. The class-action lawsuit originated from 21 separate class-action lawsuits filed in California and Illinois last year. If accepted, the settlement — filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois — would require the creation of a compensation fund for TikTok users. In addition, TikTok would be required to launch a new «privacy compliance» training program and would need to take further measures to protect user data. According to the proposed settlement (via NPR), TikTok was accused of using a «complex system of artificial intelligence (AI)» to recognize facial features in user videos, as well as to recommend stickers and filters.
