Dutch claim organizations can sue TikTok for privacy violation

This article was published on Actuma.nl

Three claim organizations that want to sue TikTok for privacy violations have received the green light from the court in Amsterdam. The organizations are demanding billions of euros in damages. However, it was still questionable whether the lawsuit could be conducted in the Netherlands, since the company is registered in Ireland and a Dutch judge cannot hear the case, according to TikTok. TikTok also felt that the European Court of Justice should render a judgment and that the results of an investigation by the Irish privacy watchdog should be awaited.

Competency

The court of Amsterdam has now ruled that the Dutch courts have jurisdiction to hear a mass claim against TikTok. As a result, claim organizations SOMI, Massaschade & Consument and Take Back Your Privacy are now allowed to start a collective lawsuit against TikTok, representing tens of thousands of consumers.

Mass claim

A claim of 1.4 billion euros is announced by SOMI, 2 billion euros in damage by Take Back Your Privacy and 6 billion euros by Massaschade & Consument. Before the end of this year, they must let the court know if they want to continue this mass claim and TikTok can respond to that in February 2023. Ultimately, the substantive hearing of the lawsuit will probably not take place until 2024.