UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

EASTERN DIVISION

IN RE: TIKTOK INC. CONSUMER ) MDL No. 2948

PRIVACY LITIGATION ) 

_____________________________________ ) Master Docket No. 20 C 4699

)

This Document Relates to: ) Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer

)

Bravo v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 225 )

Murphy v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 504 )

Buckley v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 841 )

Tado v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 1430 )

Recht v. TikTok Inc. 23 C 2248 )

Fleming v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 2260 )

E.K. v. TikTok Inc. 23 C 2262 )

Androshchuk v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 2462 )

Albaran v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 2463 )

G.R. v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 2464 )

Moody v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 2465 )

Schulte v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 2466 )

Fugok v. TikTok, Inc. 23 C 2467 )

ORDER

The parties are directed to submit briefs on the question whether “in-app browser” claims 

asserted in these cases should be dismissed on the basis of the settlement entered into in 2022. 

Such briefs shall be submitted simultaneously on or before August 11, 2023, and should be limited 

to 15 pages. Plaintiffs’ attorneys are expected to confer with one another and agree to 

collaborating on the filing of one or a small number of joint briefs. The court requests that counsel 

review the court’s list of cases above, and promptly notify the court’s deputy clerk if the list is 

incomplete. Co-Lead Counsel previously appointed in this MDL have leave to submit briefs on 

this issue as well. 

STATEMENT

In the cases identified in the caption, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant TikTok illegally 

intercepts users’ communications and activities on third-party websites by means of the web 

browser in the TikTok App (the “in-app browser”). Specifically, Plaintiffs assert that, when users 

access third-party websites through the in-app browser, the browser inserts JavaScript code that 

then tracks users’ keystrokes and activities on the third-party websites and collects all of the data 

that users enter on those sites. Each of the cases listed above is a proposed nationwide or 

statewide class action. Each asserts claims under the Federal Wiretap Act or state antiwiretapping statutes. Plaintiff have also alleged violations of state data privacy and consumer 

protection laws, and common-law claims for invasion of privacy or unjust enrichment.

TikTok has argued that Plaintiffs’ claims should proceed, if at all, in this court, as they are 

related to cases consolidated earlier before Judge John Lee (then a judge of this court, now on 

the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit): MDL No. 2948, In re TikTok, Inc., Consumer 

Privacy Litigation. In centralizing those cases before Judge Lee, the Joint Panel on Multidistrict 

Case: 1:20-cv-04699 Document #: 306 Filed: 07/12/23 Page 1 of 2 PageID #:13431
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Litigation (“JPML” or the “Panel”) characterized those claims as charging TikTok, through its 

popular social networking app, with engaging in “the scanning, capture, retention, and 

dissemination of the facial geometry and other biometric information of users of the app.” In 

re TikTok, Inc., Consumer Privacy Litig., 481 F. Supp. 3d 1331, 1331 (J.P.M.L. 2020). Almost a 

year ago, Judge Lee approved a class settlement of that MDL. See In re TikTok, Inc., Consumer

Privacy Litig., 565 F. Supp. 3d 1076 (N.D. Ill. 2021) (granting preliminary approval); In re TikTok, 

Inc., Consumer Privacy Litig., 617 F. Supp. 3d 904 (N.D. Ill. 2022) (final approval); Docket Nos. 

160, 161, 162, 260, and 261 in 20 C 4699. 

Whether the settlement of MDL No. 2948 bars Plaintiffs from pursuing their newly-filed 

claims is disputed. Plaintiffs urge that MDL No. 2948 was limited to the claims asserted initially: 

that TikTok improperly collected users’ biometric data through the video-sharing functions of the 

app. They argue that these newer cases, regarding in-app browser actions, involve distinct 

questions of fact and law and should be centralized as a new MDL. TikTok insists that the claims 

asserted in MDL No. 2948 expanded beyond the original focus on biometric data. Citing language 

in the consolidated class action complaint, the settlement agreement, and Judge Lee’s orders, 

TikTok contends that the settlement thus encompasses claims relating not only to biometric data 

but also to the improper collection of all user data through the TikTok app. 

The JPML has considered this argument and concluded it is a “merits issue,” and therefore 

properly decided by the transferee court. In re: TikTok In-App Browser Consumer Privacy Litig., 

MDL No. 3067, ___ F. Supp. 3d ___, 2023 WL 2875731at *2 (J.P.M.L. Apr. 7, 2023). The Panel 

pointed out that in entering a final judgment in MDL No. 2948, Judge Lee “expressly retained 

jurisdiction over the interpretation and enforcement of the class settlement and enjoined further 

litigation by class members relating to the released claims.” Id. The JPML has transferred the 

cases to this court. Although I personally did not enter that final judgment, I am prepared to 

exercise the jurisdiction retained by my colleague and to turn, first, to the question whether some 

or all of the claims asserted in the “in-app browser” cases are subject to the MDL No. 2948 

settlement. If one or more of those claims survives this analysis, the court will need to develop a 

case management plan and potentially make determinations about appointment of lead and 

liaison Plaintiffs’ counsel. 

The court invites the parties to submit briefs on the question whether in-app browser 

claims should be dismissed on the basis of settlement. Such briefs shall be due on or before 

August 11, 2023, and should be limited to 15 pages. Plaintiffs’ counsel are expected to confer 

with one another and agree to collaborate on the filing of one or a small number of joint briefs. 

Co-Lead Counsel previously appointed in this MDL have leave to submit briefs on this issue as 

well. 

ENTER:

Dated: July 12, 2023 ______________________________________

REBECCA R. PALLMEYER

United States District Judge

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