Case: 1:20-cv-03771 Document #: 1 Filed: 06/26/20 Page 1 of 30 PageID #:1
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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
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`
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`N.T. and L.T., minors, by and
`through their guardian, Darcy
`Tellone, individually and on behalf
`of all other similarly situated, and
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`S.P., J.P., K.P., G.P., minors, by and
`through their guardian, Katie
`Patterman, individually and on
`behalf of all other similarly situated,
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`
`
`
`
`TIKTOK INC. and BYTEDANCE,
`INC.,
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`
`
`Plaintiffs,
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`
`
`v.
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case No.
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`
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`CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
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`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`
`COMPLAINT
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`Defendants.
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`Plaintiffs N.T., L.T., S.P., J.P., K.P., and G.P., minors, by and through their guardians,
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`individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, bring their complaint against
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`Defendants TikTok Inc. (“TikTok”) (successor to Musical.ly, Inc.) and ByteDance, Inc.
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`(“ByteDance”) (collectively, “Defendants”), and allege as follows:
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`I.
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`INTRODUCTION
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`1.
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` TikTok is a popular smartphone application (“app”) that allows its users to create
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`and share short videos. TikTok offers a number of audio and visual features and effects that can
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`be applied to users’ videos—including popular song clips, moments from TV shows, stickers,
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`animations, face filters, and face trackers (which automatically zoom in on a user’s face when
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`the camera lens detects it).
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`2.
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`However, in connection with certain visual features and effects, Defendants
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`surreptitiously collect, use, and store users’ facial geometry, which is private, legally protected
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`biometric information. Defendants fail to disclose or obtain consent for this collection, use, or
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`storage. And they further fail to disclose why they collect, use, and store Defendants’ biometric
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`data, who has access to the data, or how long the data will be retained—all of which is required
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`by law.
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`3.
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`As recognized in the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740
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`ILCS 14/1, et seq:
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`Biometrics are unlike other unique identifiers that are used to access
`finances or other sensitive information. For example, social security
`numbers, when compromised, can be changed. Biometrics, however, are
`biologically unique to the individual; therefore, once compromised, the
`individual has no recourse, is at heightened risk for identity theft, and
`is likely to withdraw from biometric-facilitated transactions.
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`740 ILCS § 14/5(c) (emphasis added).
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`4.
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`Nevertheless, Defendants collect this private, biometric, identifying information
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`even for minor children.
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`5.
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`Plaintiffs bring this class action against TikTok and its owner, ByteDance,
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`individually and on behalf of the proposed class, seeking damages and injunctive relief for
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`Defendants’ privacy violations.
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`II.
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`JURISDICTION
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`6.
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`This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to the Class Action Fairness
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`Act of 2005, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2), because this is a class action in which the matter in
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`controversy exceeds the sum of $5,000,000 and Defendants are citizens of a state different from
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`that of at least one class member. This Court also has supplemental jurisdiction pursuant to 28
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`U.S.C. § 1367(a) because all claims alleged herein form part of the same case or controversy.
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`7.
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`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants because the allegations in
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`this complaint arise from Defendants’ misconduct occurring within this state and which harmed
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`residents of this state. Defendants collected, stored, and used the biometric identifiers and
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`information of class members located in this state, including Plaintiffs. Both Defendants
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`maintain offices and conduct business in this state.
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`8.
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`Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391 because a substantial
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`part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred in this District and Defendants
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`conduct business in this District.
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`A. Plaintiffs
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`III. PARTIES
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`9.
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`Plaintiffs N.T. and L.T. are minors. Darcy Tellone is the guardian of her minor
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`children, N.T. and L.T. Ms. Tellone and her children reside in Yorkville, Illinois. N.T. and L.T.
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`each began using the TikTok app when it was originally known as Musical.ly and they continue
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`to use TikTok as of the time of the filing of this complaint. N.T. and L.T. used TikTok to record
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`personal videos, some of which were intended to be kept private and others which were to be
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`uploaded to the platform. Neither Ms. Tellone nor her children recall seeing or reviewing the
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`terms of service, privacy policy, or privacy policy for younger users upon creating their TikTok
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`accounts. Nor does Ms. Tellone or either of her children recall any notifications concerning
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`updates or changes to the terms of service, privacy policy, or privacy policy for younger users.
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`10.
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`Plaintiffs S.P., J.P., K.P., and G.P. are minors. Katie Patterman is the guardian
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`of her minor children, S.P., J.P., K.P., and G.P. Ms. Patterman and her children reside in
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`Yorkville, Illinois. J.P. began using the TikTok app when it was originally known as Musical.ly;
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`S.P., K.P., and G.P. signed up in approximately 2020; and all four children continue to use
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`TikTok as of the time of the filing of this complaint. S.P., J.P., K.P., and G.P. used TikTok to
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`record personal videos, some of which were intended to be kept private and others which were to
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`be uploaded to the platform. Neither Ms. Patterman nor her children recall seeing or reviewing
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`the terms of service, privacy policy, or privacy policy for younger users upon creating their
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`TikTok accounts. Nor does Ms. Patterman or her children recall any notifications concerning
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`updates or changes to the terms of service, privacy policy, or privacy policy for younger users.
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`11.
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`None of the Plaintiffs or their guardians received notice from Defendants: that
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`Defendants would collect, store, or use their biometric identifiers or biometric information;
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`regarding the time that Defendants would retain such information; or of the purpose of
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`Defendants’ collection of such information. Neither the Plaintiffs, nor their guardians, gave
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`consent for Defendants to collect, store, or use Plaintiffs’ biometric identifiers or biometric
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`information. Moreover, Plaintiffs, as minors, could not legally consent to Defendants’ collection,
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`storage, or use of their biometric identifiers or biometric information.
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`B. Defendants
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`12.
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`Defendant TikTok, Inc. f/k/a Musical.ly, Inc. (“TikTok”) is a California
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`corporation with its principal place of business in Culver City, California. Defendant TikTok
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`maintains offices throughout the United States, including in Chicago, Illinois. In August 2018,
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`Musical.ly, Inc. merged into TikTok, and in May 2019, Musical.ly, Inc. changed its name to
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`TikTok, Inc.1 TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary of TikTok, LLC, which in turn is a wholly
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`owned subsidiary of TikTok, Ltd. And TikTok, Ltd. – like Defendant ByteDance, Inc. – is a
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`wholly owned subsidiary of ByteDance, Ltd.
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`13.
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`Defendant ByteDance, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of
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`business in Palo Alto, California. ByteDance, Inc. maintains a corporate office and conducts
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`1 Unless stated otherwise, Plaintiffs reference the TikTok app collectively with the Musical.ly app in this
`complaint.
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`business in Chicago, Illinois. Defendant ByteDance, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of
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`ByteDance, Ltd.
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`IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
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`A. ByteDance Is One of the Most Influential Tech Companies in the World
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`14.
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`ByteDance Ltd. was founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming based upon the notion
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`that “smartphones would replace newspapers to become the most important medium of
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`information distribution” and artificial intelligence (“AI”) would be the driving force behind this
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`evolution.2 “ByteDance regards its platforms as part of an artificial intelligence company
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`powered by algorithms that ‘learn’ each user’s interests and preferences through repeat
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`interaction.”3
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`15.
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`ByteDance released its first app in 2012, called Neihan Duanzi. Neihan Duanzi
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`was a platform where users shared jokes in the form of short videos, memes, and written posts.
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`16.
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`ByteDance’s next app was a news aggregator called Jinri Toutiao, which uses Mr.
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`Zhang’s AI algorithm to create personal lists of articles and videos tailored to each user based
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`upon their reading habits.4 The AI at the heart of Toutiao has been such a success that the app is
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`used by over 250 million people in China each month.5
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`17.
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`In September 2016, ByteDance release a new video-sharing and social-network
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`2 https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Cover-Story/Inside-ByteDance-the-75bn-unicorn-behind-TikTok
`3 Letter from Senators Charles Schumer and Tom Cotton to Joseph Maguire, Acting Director of National
`Intelligence, dated October 23, 2019. Available at
`https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/10232019%20TikTok%20Letter%20-
`%20FINAL%20PDF.pdf.
`4 https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Cover-Story/Inside-ByteDance-the-75bn-unicorn-behind-TikTok
`5https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/30/tiktok-owner-bytedance-what-to-know-about-the-chinese-tech-
`giant.html#:~:text=What%20is%20ByteDance%3F,by%20Chinese%20censors%20in%202018.
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`5
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`app, Douyin, which would become one of the most downloaded smartphone apps of all time.6
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`Douyin allows users to create short dance, lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. By using
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`ByteDance’s AI algorithms, Douyin became one of the top downloaded apps in China and has
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`amassed an astounding 400 million daily active users as of January 2020.7
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`18.
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`Like many popular apps before it, Douyin was not an original idea; rather it
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`imitated an app called Musical.ly. Musical.ly was founded in 2014 by two Chinese nationals
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`from Shanghai, Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang. The video sharing app reportedly had more than 100
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`million users, primarily in Europe and the Americas.8 Unlike Douyin, however, Musical.ly was
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`available to U.S. consumers and was building a vast user base around the globe.
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`B. TikTok Has Become One of the Most Popular Apps of All Time
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`19.
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`In May 2017, after the explosion in popularity of Douyin, ByteDance launched
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`TikTok— a nearly identical app—outside of mainland China, including in Japan, Thailand,
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`Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Germany.
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`20.
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`In November 2017, three months after the release of TikTok, ByteDance
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`announced that it entered into a deal to acquire Musical.ly, reported to be worth up to $1 billion.9
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`With the acquisition of Musical.ly, TikTok now had a foothold in the U.S. market.
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`21.
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`ByteDance formally merged Musical.ly into TikTok in August 2018. Musical.ly
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`was then shut down and its accounts and data were transferred to TikTok.10
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`
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`6 https://www.bytedance.com/en/
`7 https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/06/douyin-tiktok-app-in-china-hits-400-million-daily-active-users/
`8 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bytedance-musically/chinas-bytedance-scrubs-musical-ly-brand-in-
`favor-of-tiktok-idUSKBN1KN0BW
`9 https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/10/technology/musically-bytedance-toutiao-china/index.html
`10 https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/323111/musically-to-shut-
`down.html#:~:text=The%20mobile%20video%20app%20M,the%20Chinese%20telecom%20firm%20Byt
`edance
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`22.
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`The combination of Musical.ly’s lip-syncing platform and ByteDance’s advanced
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`technological capabilities has turned TikTok into the most popular app in the United States.
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`23.
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`By the end of 2018, TikTok had amassed over 680 million active monthly users—
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`making it one of the most popular apps of all time.11
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`24.
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`In April 2020, it was announced that TikTok had achieved a key milestone of
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`over two billion downloads:12
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`
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`The popularity of TikTok has led to countless celebrities joining the platform.13
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`25.
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`TikTok counts Will Smith, Britney Spears, Jessica Alba, Alex Rodriguez, and Jennifer Lopez as
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`users, each with millions of followers. The app has also created a new generation of young
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`11 https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-
`statistics/#:~:text=In%20November%20of%202018%2C%20TikTok,800%20million%20as%20of%20no
`w
`12 https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/29/tiktok-tops-2-billion-
`downloads/#:~:text=In%20the%20quarter%20that%20ended,downloads%2C%20amassed%20nearly%20
`250%20million
`13 https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a32028959/celebrities-on-tik-tok/
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`celebrities who reached fame through TikTok.14
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`26.
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`TikTok monetizes its large user base through at least two avenues: in-app
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`purchases of “coins” and traditional online advertising.
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`27.
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`TikTok users are able to purchase “coins,” a virtual currency used to “reward” the
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`individuals who create videos.15 TikTok content creators are then able to cash out their coins into
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`real currency.
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`28.
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`TikTok, like YouTube and other social media platforms, also advertises on its
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`app.16 TikTok sells video ads that appear in between user-generated content. Each time these
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`videos appear on a user’s feed and a user clicks the ad or takes another action, such as
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`purchasing the advertiser’s product, TikTok earns a fee.
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`29. Within the fourth quarter of 2019, alone, it was reported that TikTok saw its in-
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`app purchase revenue rise 310% on a year-over-year basis, and overall revenue exceeded $50
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`million.17
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`30.
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`The popularity of Jinri Toutiao, Douyin, and TikTok has turned Mr. Zhang’s
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`ByteDance into a “unicorn”—valued at $78 billion.18
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`C. Defendants Begin to Collect Personal Data as Soon as, if Not Before, a
`TikTok Account is Created
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`31.
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`To use the app, TikTok users are first prompted to create an account by providing
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`14 https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-most-popular-stars-gen-z-influencers-social-media-app-2019-6
`15 https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/tech/475150/how-tiktok-tempts-kids-to-spend-hundreds-of-pounds-
`on-virtual-coins-to-pay-online-celebs/
`16 https://infobeat.com/how-does-tiktok-make-money-overview-of-the-business-
`model/#:~:text=Companies%20are%20using%20TikTok%20to,and%20generate%20money%20from%20
`it.
`17 https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/03/tiktoks-revenue-said-to-skyrocket-over-300-in-q4/
`18 https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/30/tiktok-owner-bytedances-first-half-revenue-better-than-expected-at-
`over-7-billion-sources.html
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`their phone number, an email address, or Facebook account information.19
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`32.
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`After the account is created, users can search for videos based upon categories
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`(including comedy, animals, and sports), or search more directly for hashtags or specific users.
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`33.
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`The app also searches a user’s phone contacts or social media followers to
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`identify friends already on TikTok.
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`34.
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`After creating an account, users are then able to record, save, and upload their
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`own videos of them lip-synching and dancing to popular songs.
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`35.
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`If a user finds a video or content creator which they like, the app allows users to
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`comment on videos or directly message each other.
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`36.
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`TikTok’s current U.S. Privacy Policy20 acknowledges some of personal
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`information it collects from its users:
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`We collect information when you create an account and use the
`Platform. We also collect information you share with us from third-
`party social network providers, and technical and behavioral
`information about your use of the Platform. We also collect
`information contained in the messages you send through our
`Platform and information from your phone book, if you grant us
`access to your phone book on your mobile device.21
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`37. More specifically, TikTok stores all the personal information data available to it,
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`such as a person’s name, age, email address, phone number, social media accounts, payment
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`information (such as PayPal account information), and contact list (which is submitted by its
`
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`19 https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok
`20 The privacy policies and terms of service addressed in this complaint were discovered by Plaintiffs’
`counsel’s pre-filing investigation and were not reviewed by Plaintiffs or their guardians prior to their
`involvement in this case, nor did Plaintiffs or their guardians consent to the terms of such policies.
`21 Available at https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us (Updated January 1,
`2020).
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`users when creating a TikTok account).22
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`38.
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`The app also automatically collects all user content (e.g., videos and photographs
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`recorded on its app) and communications, IP addresses, geo-location-related data, device
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`identifiers, browsing and search history (both on and off the TikTok app), cookies, metadata, and
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`other sensitive personal information.23
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`39.
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`Senators Christophe Coons and Josh Hawley called location data “among the
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`most sensitive personal information that a user can share with a company.” The average
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`smartphone used by Americans today tracks more than the street address at which the user is
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`located—it is able to identify on which floor in the building the user can found.24
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`40.
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`In addition to the personal information that users knowingly and unknowingly
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`provide to TikTok, the company also collects information about the user from third parties, such
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`as Facebook and advertising companies, as well as information provided by other TikTok
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`users.25
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`41.
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`TikTok does not just collect users’ personal information, it “processes,… scan[s]
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`and analyz[es]” the information.26
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`42.
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`TikTok’s Privacy Policy also states that it “may share [a user’s personal]
`
`
`22 https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-
`bytedance-tiktok-exclusive/exclusive-chinas-bytedance-moves-to-ringfence-its-tiktok-app-amid-us-probe-
`sources-idUSKBN1Y10OH
`23 https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us
`24 Letter from Senators Christophe Coons and Josh Hawley to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, Inc.,
`dated November 19, 2019. Available at
`https://www.coons.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/11.19.19%20FB%20Letter%20FINAL%20(signed).pdf
`25 https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us
`26 https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us
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`information with a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of [its] corporate group.”27
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`43.
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`For users under the age of 13, TikTok maintains a separate privacy policy,
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`referred to as its “Privacy Policy for Younger Users.”28
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`44.
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`However, users’ reported ages on TikTok are frequently inaccurate, as “age” is
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`determined by the unverified date of birth provided upon sign up, see infra.
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`45.
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`Even for the most vulnerable, young users whose date of birth was correctly
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`entered at sign-up, TikTok collects personal information, including users’ birthdays, and “certain
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`information automatically from the user’s device, including internet or other network activity
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`information such as device ID, IP address, web browser type and version, country-level location,
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`as well as certain app activity data, such as video watches, time in the app, and general usage
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`data.” And an inaccurate age can subject even TikTok’s youngest users to TikTok’s broader,
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`even more invasive data collection and disclosure practices.
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`46.
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`Further, even for its “Younger Users,” TikTok shares “the information [it]
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`collect[s] with [its] corporate group, and with service providers.”
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`47.
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`Notably, the TikTok app enables users—including minors—to create TikTok
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`accounts and use the app without the users or their guardians ever having seen the privacy
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`policies or terms of service.
`
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`27 https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en#privacy-us. In prior versions of the Privacy
`Policy, TikTok specifically states that it “will” share user information with “any member or affiliate of
`our group, in China[.]” E.g.,
`https://web.archive.org/web/20180829183230/http:/www.tiktok.com/i18n/privacy#how-share (last
`updated Aug. 2018)
`28 Available at https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy-for-younger-users?lang=en (updated January
`2020).
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`D. Defendants Surreptitiously Collect, Store, and Use Plaintiffs’ Biometric
`Information and Biometric Identifiers
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`48.
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`In addition to the large swaths of private and personally identifiable information
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`Defendants collect unnecessarily as described above, Defendants also surreptitiously collect
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`TikTok users’ legally protected biometric information and biometric identifiers—and they do so
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`without the required disclosure or consent.
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`49.
`
`Biometrics is a term used to categorize the most personal and identifying features
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`for each person. It refers to unique, measurable human biological or behavioral characteristics,
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`including fingerprints, voiceprints, and scans of the retina, iris, or face geometry, which are used
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`for identification and authentication purposes.
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`50.
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`Defendants’ technology allows them to capture their users’ biometric data and
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`incorporate it into the TikTok app. ByteDance has publicly admitted that it trained its AI
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`technology to, among other things, engage in “facial recognition for the filters” and that it has
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`“buil[t] intelligent machines that are capable of understanding and analyzing text, images and
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`videos using natural language processing and computer vision technology.”29
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`51.
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`TikTok has even created a feature that allows users to select an individual’s face
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`in a video and subsequently use TikTok’s facial recognition technology to identify other videos
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`in which that person appears.30
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`52.
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`Because of the highly sensitive nature of biometric information, in 2008, Illinois
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`adopted the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), which, among other things,
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`requires companies to provide notice that they are collecting biometric information, obtain
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`written consent, and make certain disclosures. In addition, companies subject to BIPA are
`
`
`29 https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/30/18107732/bytedance-valuation-tiktok-china-startup
`30 https://radiichina.com/tiktok-new-video-search-function-is-from-the-future/
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`required to develop a written policy establishing a retention schedule and guidelines for
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`permanently destroying biometric data.
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`53.
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` In passing BIPA, the Illinois General Assembly recognized:
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`Biometrics are unlike other unique identifiers that are used to access finances or
`other sensitive information. For example, social security numbers, when
`compromised, can be changed. Biometrics, however, are biologically unique to the
`individual; therefore, once compromised, the individual has no recourse, is at
`heightened risk for identity theft, and is likely to withdraw from biometric-
`facilitated transactions.
`
`740 ILCS § 14/5(c).
`
`54.
`
`Nevertheless, Defendants collect users’ facial geometry in connection with, for
`
`example, algorithms used to determine users’ ages and the app’s facial filter and tracking
`
`features.
`
`E. TikTok Uses Users’ Personal Information and Biometrics—along with its
`Algorithms and AI--to Provide Targeted Content, Features, and Effects
`
`55.
`
`TikTok uses the private data it collects to drive app use, user engagement, and
`
`thus profits.
`
`56.
`
`TikTok’s user homepage is titled “For You.” The “For You” page is the first thing
`
`users see when opening that app, and it is an algorithmic feed that recommends targeted videos
`
`for each user, even if the user never posted anything, followed anyone, or liked a video.
`
`57.
`
`Once active on and engaging with the app, TikTok’s AI algorithm continuously
`
`records each action users take on the app, including what videos each user watches, how long
`
`each user watches a particular category of video, and which advertisements a user engages with,
`
`as well their current location. As a result, “[t]he company has years of data informing it on how
`
`people think, feel and act, making it an expert on what makes people tick and how to persuade
`
`
`
`13
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`

`

`Case: 1:20-cv-03771 Document #: 1 Filed: 06/26/20 Page 14 of 30 PageID #:14
`
`them to watch, share or like certain content.”31
`
`
`
`58.
`
`As one teenage user explained, the app’s powerful AI is key to keeping users on
`
`the app for extended periods of time:32
`
` … TikTok still manages to rope us into its addictive videos.
`Because not only is its content addicting, the app itself is designed
`to keep us glued to our screens. With most other social media
`platforms, the majority of content is derived from accounts that you
`follow. And although you can follow and “friend” a lot of accounts
`on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, there’s eventually a
`point where all the “interesting” content runs dry. With TikTok, that
`isn’t the case.
`
`Its “For You” feature supplies a steady, never-ending pool of
`TikToks specifically catered for you — from creators hailing from
`every cranny of TikTok. Not to mention, the app doesn’t display the
`current time, making it easy to get swept up in the endless feed of
`videos.
`
`Even more, the viral nature of TikTok has produced an entirely new
`generation of youths viewing social media as a performative pursuit.
`Though social media inherently possesses and endorses posturing
`for others online, this app has taken it even further by promoting
`actual performance art — dancing, singing, acting, editing and
`more. It has broadened the definition of what social media is:
`TikTok isn’t merely a social app to share posts and mindlessly scroll
`through. For almost every user, it’s become an activity, a hobby, a
`project, a transactional video dialogue between user and camera.
`
`59.
`
`In addition to using its AI to bombard users with addicting streams of content,
`
`TikTok has developed advanced technological software that allows users to apply effects and
`
`animations (referred to as “face filters” and trackers) to their videos in real time. TikTok has
`
`multiple categories of “face filters,” including “Trending” and “Animals,” 33 as well as a face
`
`
`31 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2019-10-29/worries-that-tiktok-is-a-threat-to-national-
`security-have-merit
`32 https://cornellsun.com/2020/02/09/nguyen-the-terrifyingly-tantalizing-trend-thats-tiktok/
`33 E.g., https://medium.com/@banuba/how-camera-face-filters-brought-tiktok-millions-of-users-
`4081f885f81c
`
`
`
`14
`
`

`

`Case: 1:20-cv-03771 Document #: 1 Filed: 06/26/20 Page 15 of 30 PageID #:15
`
`
`
`tracker effect that tracks and automatically zooms in on the user’s face.
`
`60.
`
`The face filters use a smartphone’s or tablet’s camera to scan or map the user’s
`
`face and other biologically unique features—i.e., users’ biometric identities and biometric
`
`information.
`
`61.
`
`It was reported that TikTok has created a feature that allows users to superimpose
`
`an individual’s facial features on top of their own and record a video (referred to as “deepfake”
`
`videos).34 The technology that relies on facial recognition capabilities and biometric face scans
`
`“is often so good that it is hard to tell if the content was manipulated.”
`
`62.
`
`There is also significant evidence that TikTok uses its facial recognition
`
`capabilities to identify and categorize its users’ race, age, and gender. In February 2020, Marc
`
`Faddoul, an AI researcher at UC Berkeley School of Information, found that TikTok was
`
`recommending accounts on users’ “For You” page that matched the race, age or facial
`
`characteristics of the user and the profiles he or she already followed.35 Mr. Faddoul found that
`
`when he followed the TikTok account of a black woman, the app recommended that he follow
`
`three more black women. The facial recognition feature was so effective that when Mr. Faddoul
`
`followed an Asian man with dyed hair, the app recommended three more Asian men with dyed
`
`hair, and the same thing happened for men with visible disabilities.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`34 https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2020/01/07/tiktoks-deepfakes-just-the-latest-security-issue-
`for-the-video-sharing-app/#30e557a370a2
`35 https://www.wired.co.uk/article/tiktok-filter-bubbles
`
`
`
`15
`
`

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`Case: 1:20-cv-03771 Document #: 1 Filed: 06/26/20 Page 16 of 30 PageID #:16
`
`
`
`63.
`
`The following chart details some of Mr. Faddoul’s findings:36
`
`
`Notably, while TikTok does not request personal information such as whether a
`
`64.
`
`man has a beard or dyes his hair, the app was able to identify individuals with those features.
`
`65.
`
`It has been reported that TikTok has also implemented voice recognition
`
`capabilities that can be used to identify speakers and manipulate their words.37
`
`66.
`
`On information and belief, TikTok’s ability to recognize age, race, gender, voice,
`
`and facial features uses the AI technology developed and patented by TikTok’s affiliate Beijing
`
`ByteDance Network Technology Co Ltd.
`
`67.
`
`ByteDance has acknowledged that it collects biometric data in its TikTok clone
`
`apps around the globe. Vigo Video, owned by TikTok Pte. Ltd, states in its Privacy Policy (Last
`
`Updated: January 1, 2020), that it “collect[s] and use[s]” a user’s “face landmarks or face
`
`
`36 https://twitter.com/MarcFaddoul/status/1232014908536938498
`37 https://www.cigionline.org/articles/new-platform-old-problems-how-tiktok-recreates-regulatory-
`challenges-came-it; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D29f4-J2mw
`
`
`
`16
`
`

`

`Case: 1:20-cv-03771 Document #: 1 Filed: 06/26/20 Page 17 of 30 PageID #:17
`
`
`
`contour[.]”38 Douyin’s Privacy Policy (Last Updated: February 13, 2020) similarly states that it
`
`uses “face recognition” to “perform real-name authentication.”39
`
`68.
`
`TikTok, however, has never adequately disclosed its collection and use of
`
`biometric information, including facial geometry, let alone disclosed its retention policy for such
`
`data.
`
`69.
`
`These features have been credited with having a “huge impact on user
`
`involvement and allowed TikTok to grow its audience organically.”40
`
`70.
`
`TikTok’s algorithm and features are so successful that the average person spends
`
`45 minutes per day scrolling through the app.41
`
`F. TikTok Attracts Children to Its Platform and Collects Their Private and
`Legally Protected Data, But Leaves Them Vulnerable and Exploited
`
`71. Minor children make up a substantial portion of TikTok’s user demographic, and
`
`thus, Defendants’ profits.
`
`72.
`
`In September 2016, the New York Times described Musical.ly as “an app that is
`
`young in every sense of the word,” noting that the company claimed to have over 100 million
`
`users, mostly between ages 13 and 20; the Times observed: “What is striking about the app,
`
`though, is how many of its users appear to be even younger than that.”42
`
`73.
`
`In 2019, TikTok reported that approximately 60% of its active users in the United
`
`
`38 https://www.vigovideo.net/hotsoon/in_app/privacy_policy/
`39 https://www.douyin.com/agreements/?id=6773901168964798477 (translation provided by Google
`Translate)
`40 https://medium.com/@banuba/how-camera-face-filters-brought-tiktok-millions-of-users-4081f885f81c
`41 https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktoks-videos-are-goofy-its-strategy-to-dominate-social-media-is-
`serious-11561780861
`42 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/business/media/a-social-network-frequented-by-children-tests-
`the-limits-of-online-regulation.html
`
`
`
`17
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`

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`
`
`
`States were between the ages of 16 and 24,43 and 28% of users were below the age of 18.44
`
`74.
`
`In February 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that TikTok’s “youthful vibe
`
`presents a predicament for TikTok because many devotees are under 13.” In particular, the
`
`article reported that approximately 70% of 10-year-old girls with smartphones in the U.