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Agence France-Presse

A university student in California has filed a class-action lawsuit against video app TikTok, which she accuses of harvesting large amounts of user data and storing it in China.
“TikTok clandestinely has vacuumed up and transferred to servers in China vast quantities of private and personally identifiable user data,” the court filing said.
Misty Hong, a student in Palo Alto, California, filed the suit against the Chinese-based app in a California federal court last week, according to a report in The Daily Beast on Monday.
The video platform, which is hugely popular with teenagers around the world, was launched by Chinese company ByteDance in September 2017.
“TikTok also has surreptitiously taken user content, such as draft videos never intended for publication, without user knowledge or consent,” the lawsuit alleges.
“In short, TikTok’s lighthearted fun comes at a heavy cost,” it said.

The suit marks the latest legal battle for the app. In early November, the US government opened a national security investigation into TikTok, according to The New York Times, potentially looking into whether the app was sending data to China.
Hong alleges that the app retrieved her data without permission – including videos that she had created but not shared online – and transferred them to servers run by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government.
She filed the suit on behalf of the approximately 110 million US residents who have downloaded the app.
TikTok did not immediately reply to a request for response.
In November, it said it could not comment on a possible US investigation but emphasised that the respect of US users and regulators was its highest priority.
TikTok has distanced itself from Chinese authorities, maintaining that its servers are located outside the country and that its data is therefore not subject to Chinese law.
In November, the app hit 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, outperforming Instagram.


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TikTok

University student sues TikTok in US over alleged transfer of data to China

TikTok has distanced itself from the Chinese authorities, maintaining that its servers are located outside the country. Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a smartphone with Tik Tok logo displayed in this picture illustration taken November 7, 2019. Picture taken November 7, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

TikTok distances itself from China amid pressure from the US, while branching out to other markets: reports

TikTok has been under pressure from US authorities over concerns about data privacy and security. Photo: Reuters

Zhang Yiming, founder of Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., poses for a photograph at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China, on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. The company is best known for a mobile app called Jinri Toutiao, or Today's Headlines, which aggregates news and videos from hundreds of media outlets. In five years, the app has become one of the most popular news services anywhere, with 120 million daily users. Photographer: Giulia Marchi/Bloomberg [05MAY2019 FEATURE POST MAGAZINE] CREDIT: Giulia Marchi/Bloomberg

TikTok teams up with UN Women to raise awareness about violence against women in India

The #KaunsiBadiBaatHai campaign aims to raise awareness about women's safety issues in India. Image: TikTok

Screengrab of the #kaunsibadibaathai campaign page on TikTok's website.

TikTok apologises for temporary removal of video on Muslims in China

A girl holds a smartphone that displays a picture of short video app TikTok. The Beijing-based social media platform has apologised for removing a viral video criticising the mass internment of Muslims in China. Photo: dpa

News

China

People & Culture

Diplomacy


Lawsuit accuses video app of retrieving user data and transferring it to servers run by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government
It comes after US opened national security investigation into the app



Lawsuit accuses video app of retrieving user data and transferring it to servers run by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government.


China technology

US-China tech war

University student sues TikTok in US over alleged transfer of data to China

Lawsuit accuses video app of retrieving user data and transferring it to servers run by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government It comes after US opened national security investigation into the app

Lawsuit accuses video app of retrieving user data and transferring it to servers run by companies that cooperate with the Chinese government

It comes after US opened national security investigation into the app