Dutch parents take TikTok to court with damage claim of 1.4 billion

Foundation for Market Information Research (Somi) sues social media platform TikTok. The foundation does this on behalf of European parents: they fear for the privacy and safety of their children on TikTok. The claim amount can be up to 1.4 billion euros.

This article was published on 2nd June 2021 on Parool, in the Netherlands. Written by Marlie van Zoggel.

According to the foundation, TikTok is negligent when it comes to the privacy of children who watch and upload videos on the platform. On the one hand, by collecting more data than necessary, not requesting permission in the correct way and not specifying how this data is used. On the other hand, by insufficiently protecting children against harmful video content. According to Somi, this would have indirectly even led to the death of several children.

In the indictment, the foundation refers to a 10-year-old girl from Italy who died early this year after participating in the so-called 'blackout challenge', in which participants are challenged to hold their breath until they lose consciousness. These kinds of dangerous challenges led to complaints and accidents all over the world, but are still promoted by TikTok, Somi says.

Also, the (often hidden) advertisements for unhealthy products and promotion of unrealistic beauty ideals in TikTok videos are harmful to young children.

1.4 billion euros

Somi wants compensation for all minor users who participate in the mass claim. For children up to the age of thirteen, this is 2000 euros per TikTok user, for children up to fifteen years it is 1000 euros and for 16 and 17-year-olds, the foundation wants compensation of 500 euros per user. Although TikTok does not disclose exactly how many users the platform has, the claim could rise to more than 1.4 billion euros, according to Somi.

Chance of succeeding

Somi is not the first to take action against the Chinese platform. In the United States, TikTok has already settled several settlements with users who claimed that their privacy was being violated. And in early April, former British Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield sued TikTok on behalf of 3.5 million British children who use the app. The former commissioner is demanding thousands of pounds in compensation for each victim and wants the company to immediately and permanently remove all private data.

In Europe, claims of such magnitude are exceptional. This is partly because legislation is lagging behind digital developments and we completely underestimate the effects of digitization, says Cor Wijtvliet, co-founder of Somi. “In the United States and the United Kingdom, there are regulators that specifically look at the best interests of children. We only have general privacy law within the European Union. That makes it more difficult to start a lawsuit on legal grounds.”

Jef Ausloos, IT researcher at the University of Amsterdam, agrees. Among other things, he researched TikTok's privacy policy and points out that in Europe – unlike, for example, the US – there is no 'tradition of mass claims'. Although he does see a slow change in this, partly due to the introduction of the so-called 'Wamca Act'.

Chance of succeeding

The question is whether Somi's mission has any chance of success. According to Wijtvliet, the lawsuit against TikTok is mainly paid for with its own money, while the foundation is up against a tech giant with very deep pockets.

That difference does not have to be decisive, says Laura Poolman, lawyer at the Amsterdam law firm Kennedy Van der Laan and who specializes in privacy and data protection law: "If they can prove that the GDPR has been violated, I certainly don't think the case has a chance."

Poolman does point out, however, that this violation alone may not be sufficient for compensation. “In several Dutch court cases, damages were not awarded because it was insufficiently substantiated that the privacy violation led to immaterial damage. I think that's where the challenge lies, because prove that TikTok's alleged privacy violations have damaged its users."

Ausloos also thinks that 'certainly a legal argument' can be made. “Companies like YouTube and TikTok are in principle not responsible for what others put on their platform, but they are responsible for the algorithm. If they continue to prioritize potentially problematic videos, it's more or less a conscious choice, and they bear the responsibility for it.”

At the same time, he does not dare to attribute great opportunities to Somi. “What doesn't help is that the lawsuit is in Ireland, where TikTok is located. I wish them the best, but am not aware of many successful cases against IT companies there. And certainly not from things that come from abroad. But oh well," he concludes. "Once has to be the first time."

Read the original article (in Dutch): https://www.parool.nl/nederland/nederlandse-ouders-dagen-tiktok-voor-rechter-met-schadeclaim-van-1-4-miljard~bb15a9c6/