The video platform is said to have illegally collected data from minors.
The video platform Tiktok has to pay 92 million (around 75 million euros) dollars in the USA because of alleged data protection violations. In return, several ongoing proceedings are to be discontinued in which Tiktok is accused of illegally collecting data from underage users.
According to court documents submitted to the AFP news agency on Friday, Tiktok is also committed to more transparency when collecting user data and to better training its employees on data protection issues. The agreement between the conflicting parties has yet to be approved by a federal judge.
Parents had sued Tiktok in several US states. They accuse the app, which belongs to the Chinese Internet company Bytedance, of illegally collecting data from their children, including facial images. Among other things, the data was used to drive the development of artificial intelligence.
“The plaintiffs claim that the Tiktok app infiltrates their users' devices and draws a wide range of private data, including biometric data,” wrote attorneys in the court documents. Tiktok uses it to create profiles of its users for “targeted advertising and profit”.
With its functions for short videos, Tiktok is particularly popular with teenagers and young adults. However, the online platform came under massive pressure in the USA last year. The then President Donald Trump wanted to force the parent company Bytedance to sell the app to US companies.
The Trump administration had classified Tiktok as a “national security risk”. The background to this is fears that data from US users could end up with the Chinese government. Tiktok has repeatedly denied the allegations. The government of Trump's successor Joe Biden has put plans for a forced sale on hold.
