TikTok Lawsuits Over Child Data Collection Consolidated in California

In addition to lawsuits over social media addiction, TikTok will now face claims that it collected personal information from minors without getting permission from their parents.

A panel of federal judges has ordered all TikTok lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system over the misuse of minors’ personal data to be consolidated as part of a new multidistrict litigation (MDL), where a single judge in the Central District of California will help coordinate pretrial proceedings.

TikTok is a short-form video sharing app that has rapidly grown in popularity in the U.S., attracting more than 100 million active users, many of whom are between the ages of 16 and 24. 

However, as the app has gained traction, concerns have grown over its marketing tactics and data collection practices, with critics arguing that TikTok lacks adequate safeguards to protect young users’ privacy and improperly collects personal information from minors without consent.

As a result of the platform’s alleged data collection practices, a series of TikTok privacy lawsuits have been filed against ByteDance, Inc., each claiming the company collects and sells personally identifiable information of millions of minors using TikTok without proper consent.

In addition to data privacy concerns, the company is also named as a defendant in a growing number of social media addiction lawsuits, which involve claims that TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and other similar platforms are deliberately engineered to be addictive for young users, which has contributed to rising rates of anxiety, depression, eating disorders and even suicide.

Given the growing number of TikTok data privacy lawsuits filed in recent months, each raising similar questions of fact and law, a group of plaintiffs filed a motion calling for the creation of a TikTok data privacy multidistrict litigation in December 2024.

At that time, there were at least seven different TikTok class action lawsuits over parental consent concerns. However, that number may dramatically increase in the coming months and years, as more families join the litigation.

Each of the lawsuits claim TikTok violates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law mandating that online services and websites secure verifiable parental consent prior to collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children. Additionally, the law stipulates that these entities must transparently disclose their practices regarding the usage and sharing of such information.

TikTok Lawsuits Consolidated

In late March, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) held oral arguments on the merits of consolidating the TikTok lawsuits as part of a new MDL, issuing a transfer order (PDF) on April 3, calling for all the claims to be centralized before U.S. District Judge George H. Wu in the Central District of California.

The JPML noted that, at first, defendants and some plaintiffs opposed consolidation, but have now decided to support the creation of a new TikTok lawsuit MDL.

“On the basis of the papers filed and the hearing session held, we find that these actions involve common questions of fact and that centralization in the Central District of California will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation,” the transfer order states. “Plaintiffs in all actions allege that TikTok fails to disclose that it collects and sells the personal information of minor children without the minors’ or their parents’ notice, knowledge, or consent, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the COPPA rule).”

Under the multidistrict litigation, all of the claims will go through pretrial proceedings together to avoid contradictory rulings and duplication of discovery efforts. However, each individual plaintiff will retain their own attorney and have to prove their individual injuries.

Now that the TikTok MDL is established, it is likely that Judge Wu will work with the parties to prepare a series of “bellwether” early test trials, to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation. After those claims, if no resolution to the litigation has been found, Judge Wu would likely remand the claims back to their originating districts for individual trial dates.

Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

The new TikTok data privacy MDL will proceed alongside a separate, ongoing multidistrict litigation that was established in 2022, involving social media addiction lawsuits against TikTok, Meta, Snapchat and other platforms. 

That litigation is centralized before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Northern District of California, involving nearly 1,500 lawsuits brought by families, school districts and communities who claim the platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive, especially for teens.

Plaintiffs in the TikTok addiction lawsuits allege that algorithms and engagement strategies were engineered to manipulate behavior, leading to severe mental health consequences such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and suicide.

Earlier this month, Judge Rogers cleared the way for those claims to move forward, rejecting efforts by the tech companies to dismiss wrongful death and negligence lawsuits. 

The court emphasized that public policy supports safeguarding children and found that the allegations of deliberate harm could support a duty of care claim.

As both MDLs move through pretrial proceedings, early bellwether trials are expected to be scheduled to help gauge how juries may respond to evidence and potentially shape future settlement discussions.