TikTok, Musical.ly app users could get money from class-action lawsuit

Users of TikTok and its predecessor Musical.ly may qualify for some cash because of a class-action lawsuit.

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A $92 million settlement is pending in a lawsuit that claims TikTok and Musical.ly “violated federal and state law by collecting and using” personal data, USA Today reported.

The data, according to court documents, was a “complex system of artificial intelligence to recognize facial features in users’ videos” that used facial recognition to figure out the user’s race, age and gender and use that information to recommend content, NBC News reported.

Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act says people can sue companies that collect the data without permission. TikTok denies the allegations, but settled to prevent going to trial, NBC News reported.

TikTok denies the claim, but the company did release the settlement notice in the app, telling users to go to the website Tiktokdataprivacysettlement.com.

According to the settlement, any person living in the U.S. who used the app before Sept. 30 can be entitled to a portion of the $92,000,000 once it is approved, minus legal fees and costs related to the case.

It also applies to people who live in Illinois and used the app in the state to create videos before Sept. 30.

Children, if the parents submit a claim on their behalf, will also be entitled to the money.

About 89 million users may be affected by the decision, NBC News reported.

The deadline to submit a claim is March 1, 2022.

People can also either exclude themselves from or object to the settlement by Jan. 31, 2022.

For more information, visit tiktokdataprivacysettlement.com.

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