TikTok to pay $92M to settle lawsuit over data privacy

TikTok collected private and biometric data from users, the lawsuit alleges.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials

I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

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Corinne Reichert

Feb. 25, 2021 5:02 p.m. PT

TikTok has agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging that the app captured biometric and private data from users in the US. Several law firms reached a settlement with the social media app on Thursday, with TikTok agreeing to pay $92 million.

The lawsuit also alleges that TikTok passed private user data on to third parties. The settlement would require the company to "initiate a new privacy compliance training program," the law firms said in a joint press release.

"While we disagree with the assertions, rather than go through lengthy litigation, we'd like to focus our efforts on building a safe and joyful experience for the TikTok community," a TikTok spokesperson told CNET in a statement.

The $92 million will be used to compensate TikTok users. The settlement still needs to be approved by a court.

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