Thousands of Dutch parents sue TikTok on behalf of their kids for over $1-billion

Amsterdam, Netherlands - A group of parents is now issuing their own kind of "TikTok challenge."

Parents from the Netherlands have joined together in a lawsuit against TikTok (stock photo).
Parents from the Netherlands have joined together in a lawsuit against TikTok (stock photo).  © Collage: 123RF/Tatiana Natcioks &123RF/bigtunaonline

Thousands of Dutch parents are demanding monetary compensation for their children from the operators of the platform TikTok.

In total, the claims amount to more than $1.7 billion, the Dutch Foundation for Market Information Research (SOMI) said on Wednesday. The organization said it represents more than 64,000 parents.

The reason given was that TikTok collects data from minors in order to show them targeted advertising without asking permission, violating their privacy rights.

In addition, they claim that the app exposes children to dangers through its trendy "challenges," in which users often perform risky, injury-inducing acts.

The app has come under fire before, when in some rare cases, challenges gone wrong have resulted in death.

TikTok is owned by the Chinese group ByteDance. The platform operator had previously stated that it was taking steps to ensure the safety of young users.

According to TikTok's terms of use, minors need the consent of their legal guardians to sign up. Children under 13 are generally not allowed to use the service.

TikTok has a Guardian's Guide and a Safety Center on its website, and points out that privacy controls are available to users so they can "choose the settings that are right for them."

The SOMI is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the fundamental rights of users of online services.

The foundation also has a similar lawsuit against video-chatting platform Zoom.

On its website, the SOMI called on parents worldwide to join in the action against mega-giant TikTok and has begun an investigation.

Cover photo: Collage: 123RF/Tatiana Natcioks &123RF/bigtunaonline

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