Social media app TikTok Inc. is facing growing accusations that its in-app browser illegally tracks users’ clicks and keystrokes in violation of a federal wiretap law—a claim that attorneys say will test novel privacy litigation issues.

Nearly one dozen proposed class actions have been filed since November alleging the TikTok app has JavaScript code that unlawfully captures personal data used to send targeted ads to consumers, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis of federal court dockets. […]

It’s the latest swell in litigation raising wiretap claims in data privacy cases. Last year, an uptick in lawsuits followed a federal appeals court ruling that session-replay technology—which allows entities to record and play back a user’s browsing session with their website—violated a Pennsylvania wiretapping law. […]

And more lawsuits could be on the way, said Colin Knisely, a privacy commercial litigation attorney at Duane Morris LLP. The potential for a new angle into significant litigation is “like chum in the water” for plaintiffs’ attorneys, he said.[…]

Litigation Challenges

[…] Whether that consent argument stands will come down to if TikTok can prove that it disclosed the activity in its terms of service or privacy policy, and obtained consent from the user, attorneys said. That’s a common defense companies make during motions to dismiss in wiretap cases, Knisely said. […]

Multidistrict Debates

[…] Case consolidation would help “streamline” approaches to litigation for both sides, Knisely of Duane Morris said.

“These are all basically the same cases with the same facts and it’s going to involve the same discovery, same legal issues, so it makes sense rather than having them spread all around the country, and even from the defendant’s perspective, to be in several different courts as opposed to one court, it’s just sort of a judicial economy issue,” Knisely said.

To read the full article, visit the Bloomberg Law website.