Hey, players! We have some fresh news for you that may interest you or may affect you as well. Just a while ago, the final approval of the lawsuit settlement between the social media application, TikTok, and the users has been granted. An Illinois federal judge permits this settlement with Illinois Tiktok user residents receiving the largest share. How do you know if you are eligible for the payout? We’ll walk you through the details so stick here with us to know more about the said news.
Are you eligible for TikTok settlement?
Just so you know, there are two classes of complainants in this settlement issue. Firstly is the nationwide users, while the other is the Illinois users. However, to know if you’re eligible has the same criteria for both classes which you can read below.
- For the Nationwide Class: This applies to all persons who reside in the United States who used the App prior to September 30, 2021.
- On the other hand, the Illinois Subclass: Covers all persons who reside in the State of Illinois and used the App in the State of Illinois to create videos prior to September 30, 2021.
- Unfortunately, the deadline for submitting the claims had ended way back on March 1, 2022. Yes, you cannot file your claims anymore as of this writing.
- Moreover, if you were able to submit a claim on or before the given deadline, the payment is your next question. As of this writing, there is no official announcement of the release of the payout yet. However, the law firm mentions that the classes receive the payment electronically. If you opted for another method, you’ll receive it by that method too.
- Furthermore, you may read the text below for more context about the valid claims and the TikTok settlement:
- “The Settlement, if approved, would provide $92,000,000 to pay the members of the Settlement Class who file valid claims, as well as to pay Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees, costs, a service award for the named plaintiffs, and the administrative costs of the settlement. It would also provide injunctive relief to protect App users’ information. The Settlement avoids the further cost and risk associated with continuing the lawsuits; it pays money to those persons whose rights Plaintiffs contend were violated; and it releases Defendants from further liability.“
- We have gathered all this information from the website of the TikTok Data Privacy Settlement. You may want to check it out on the link as well.
Settlement process and the Illinois subclass
We’ll briefly walk you through the settlement process below. Additionally, you may want to know why the Illinois users belong to a different class.
- Significantly, if you have a minor child who used the said application within the duration stated, we hope you were able to file a valid claim before the deadline too. Moreover, this was the process stated on the TikTok Data Privacy Settle website:
- On the other hand, if you are curious why the Illinois users have another class it’s because of a separate law. Their state has an Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) which strictly limits companies’ usage and sharing of the said information. To further explain the act, this is from The National Law Review:
- “The Illinois BIPA requires entities, including employers, that collect biometric data to follow a number of protocols, including maintaining a written policy about the collection and storage of biometric data, providing owners of biometric information (in this case employees) with written notice of such practices, and obtaining informed consent from individuals subject to biometric data collection.“
More about the TikTok settlement
To give you context on how that lawsuit started, in a press release, they have filed claims that the video and entertainment application, TikTok, allegedly collects biometric data from its users and imparts the said data to third-party companies without any consent given from the users.
- The settlement began with the combined 21 filed lawsuits, mostly on behalf of the minor users of the famous social media application.
- In the NBC Chicago report, the lawsuit stated, “In this class action suit, we alleged that TikTok’s technological sophistication enabled them to collect billions of user attributes, ranging from eye color to people’s facial expressions and physical gestures, and use that data without disclosure to the consumers.“
- Additionally, there is also a claim that the application draws users’ information through the drafted videos.
TikTok’s side
- TikTok denied all these allegations in February. ByteDance chose to settle the case with a $92 million payout to prevent a trial case.
- “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.“
- As part of the agreement, TikTok deletes certain users’ data. Also, they agreed to discontinue collecting biometric information.
Settlement payouts
- For your information, according to the Reuters report last July 30, around 1.2 million TikTok users filed a valid claim out of an estimated 89 million users. The estimated claim rate of the Nationwide Class is 1.4%, while 13% for the Illinois Subclass.
- If you want to know how much an individual would receive, this depends on the claim rate of the classes. The $92 million payout will be divided among the class-action members. In a report on NBC News, it is stated that “Each person is eligible for one share of the divided settlement. Illinois residents can get six shares of the divided payments.“
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You can also share any questions you have about the TikTok settlement below. Until then, stay with us here at Spiel Times for more content.
