Netherlands Consumer Group Takes TikTok to Berlin Court: Demands Damages for Users
Lawsuit claims compensation for users: TikTok allegedly causes harm to its consumers - TikTok to provide financial reimbursement to users.
Gear up, TikTok! A Dutch consumer protection organization, Stichting Onderzoek Marktinformatie (Somi), has served the video-sharing platform with a class action lawsuit at the Berlin Kammergericht – and this time, Germany's consumers can join the party with minimal legal hurdles. In May, Somi initiated a similar lawsuit against Elon Musk's X platform in Berlin.
Why, though? Somi accuses TikTok, run by Chinese firm Bytedance, of breaking laws by harvesting and analyzing deeply personal data. Beyond that, the platform sneakily generates intricate behavioral and personality profiles for advertising and other commercial purposes, all while creating a scheme to ensnare children and youngsters with its algorithm design. So far, TikTok has remained silent on the matter.
Joining the League
To be part of this legal brawl, all affected consumers need to do is register in the lawsuit registry of the Federal Office of Justice. If victorious, they won’t need to instigate individual lawsuits, but will receive their rightful claim as part of the group settlement, as confirmed by a court representative.
Somi is championing for damages for registered TikTok users. The compensation depends on users’ age at the time they started using TikTok. Users under 16 get EUR2,000, while those aged 16-21 receive EUR1,000, and users older than 21 are eligible for EUR500.
Timeline
At the time of writing, Somi’s class action lawsuit against TikTok hasn’t been officially announced in the class action registry on the Federal Office of Justice’s website. However, it’s expected to rolled out within a few days, allowing consumers to submit their claims. You can find the registration form on the Federal Office's website, www.bundesjustizamt.de/verbandsklagen. Given the electronic registration process, the Federal Office advises using this method for fast and easy registration. Claims must be submitted within three weeks after the conclusion of the oral hearing.
Class Actions: A Walk Through
- TikTok
- Kammergericht Berlin
- Berlin
- Class action
- Netherlands
- Video platform
- Federal Office of Justice
- Damages lawsuit
- Court spokesperson
- Germany
- Elon Musk
- ByteDance Ltd.
- Children
- The Netherlands consumer group, Somi, has initiated a class action lawsuit against TikTok in Berlin, accusng the video-sharing platform of breaking laws by harvesting and analyzing deeply personal data, and of creating a scheme to ensnare children with its algorithm design.
- Registered TikTok users in Germany can join the lawsuit by submitting their claims on the Federal Office of Justice's website within three weeks after the conclusion of the oral hearing. The compensation depends on users’ age at the time they started using TikTok.
