Why parents demand 1.4 billion euros from TikTok

Parents of children who use the popular app TikTok are filing a claim against the company behind that app. They believe that the app does not properly protect the safety and privacy of their children.

This article was published on 2nd June 2021 on Trouw. Written by Rufus Kain.

TikTok was officially summoned on Tuesday by the Foundation for Market Information Research (Somi). On behalf of a million Dutch minors, Somi accuses the Chinese platform of failure to protect children's privacy and sometimes even their lives. The compensation can amount to 1.4 billion euros, the foundation says.

Not all of those million minors are affiliated with the foundation, explains Somi's lawyer Douwe Linders. “You can compare it with other collective claims such as the Urgenda case. There, the action was taken against climate change for everyone in the Netherlands. This is about children who have used TikTok.”

One of Somi's complaints is that TikTok does not protect children enough against content that can harm them psychologically or physically. “The best known are risky games, or challenges,” says Linders. For example, several children died this year from the Blackout Challenge, where TikTokkers challenged each other to suffocate themselves until they passed out.

European privacy law

But the case originally started with the accusation that TikTok violates European privacy law. Linders: “It is not clear how TikTok uses personal data. This concerns, for example, personalized advertisements and the transfer of data to the United States and China. Also, they don't ask for permission properly. Young people under the age of sixteen can too easily create a profile without permission from their parents.”

When Somi started the research in July 2020, the foundation called on parents to come forward. Some 64,000 claims have now been received from all over Europe, of which almost 20,000 in the Netherlands. Parents pay 17.50 euros registration costs, which Somi says to finance the case. In addition, the foundation asks on behalf of all affiliates for insight into how TikTok has processed the personal data of their children. Linders also hopes that the applications will convince the court that Somi can speak on behalf of a large group.

Read the full article (in Dutch): https://www.trouw.nl/binnenland/waarom-ouders-1-4-miljard-euro-van-tiktok-eisen~be384fff/