TikTok faces litigation again due to data breaches

ByteDance, the company at the helm of the widely popular app TikTok, has recently come under legal fire with allegations of illicitly gathering users' biometric data. The legal action arose from claims that ByteDance's CapCut app is violating user privacy rights.

CapCut, a video editing application, boasts a user base exceeding 200 million. However, the recent lawsuit filed in Illinois alleges that CapCut has been secretly harvesting users' sensitive personal data without acquiring their consent, thus infringing on Illinois's Biometric Information Act. This data includes face scans and voice prints, which, according to the lawsuit, have been collected without prior user knowledge or agreement.

TikTok faces litigation again due to data breaches

The allegations don't stop at biometrics. Reports suggest the app is also amassing other confidential information such as user location, gender, date of birth, and even gaining access to personal photos and videos. It is presumed that the primary goal of this intrusive data mining revolves around tailoring advertising to individual users. The lawsuit further reveals that the app may even obtain the MAC address and SIM serial number. What's more, it seems that CapCut's privacy policy is deliberately complicated, making it difficult for users to fully comprehend.

In essence, CapCut users are not granting their permission in a transparent or understandable manner. ByteDance, also the creator of TikTok, has faced similar accusations related to data privacy in the past. Some speculations even suggest that user data from the US is being harvested and exploited by the Chinese government.

The first-generation iPod sold at a record priceNews & Culture