TikTok, the most popular iOS, and Android 15-second video app hit with a lawsuit action claims that the app transfers users’ private data to Chinese servers.
TikTok app found to be downloaded more than 1.3 billion times worldwide, particularly 120 million times in the United States. It stays top at the most downloaded app list for months on the Apple and Google app stores.
The Lawsuit – TikTok App
TikTok shared the created videos that include close-ups of faces and private acts with the TikTok app before the videos are saved, reads the lawsuit.
While recording the video TikTok provides certain options to the users that include a close button, next button, and button for effects. When the user click’s next button it takes to the screen that shows options “save” and “post”.
Once users clicked on the next button the app transfers the data from the user’s device to the following domain musdbn(.)com and also to musicly servers, so before saving the video as private or publically posting the video gets shared.
“Unbeknownst to those who have downloaded the seemingly innocuous Musical.ly and TikTok apps, these apps infiltrate users’ devices and extract a remarkably broad array of private and personally identifiable information that Defendants use to track and profile users for, among other things, targeting them with advertisements from which Defendants unjustly profit.”
The lawsuit urges that this unlawful act of taking secret private data and PII is contrary to American norms.
TikTok collects tons of data from the such as phone and social network contacts, username, and passwords, WiFi MAC addresses, email addresses, browsing the history, IP address, location, cookies, and other information.
“The Musical.ly and TikTok apps begin taking certain User/Device Identifiers and Biometric Identifiers immediately upon the completion of the download process and before users even have the opportunity to sign-up and create an account,” stated in the lawsuit.
Users of the Musical.ly and TikTok don’t have any clue about their Biometric Identifiers and User/Device Identifiers are taken. With the data collected the apps push targeted ads to generate revenues and profits.
Starting this April TikTok was banned in for violation violating child protection policies and later the ban has been lifted based on the TikTok argument. Earlier to this, the app was has been dinged by regulators and was fined $5.7 million by FTC.
