TikTok quietly changed its terms of service. Will need arbitration rules prevent future lawsuits?

TikTok has found a quiet way to fight some of its legal battles. A report in The New York Times indicates that TikTok stealthily updated its Terms of Service in July, changing a key passage related to arbitration hearings.

The TikTok ToS previously required user disputes to be handled through private arbitration, but the updated terms instead direct users to file complaints in one of two California courts. The Times report suggests that the change was made because some lawyers made the arbitration process costly by bringing user claims en masse.

The new terms also require users to bring action against TikTok within one year of the date when the alleged harm occurred. Previously, no specific timeline was required.

Kyle Roche, a lawyer who co-represents more than 1,000 guardians and minors in cases related to TikTok harms, told the Times that he thinks TikTok changed its ToS because it anticipates a wave of new lawsuits. A coalition of state attorneys general is currently investigating TikTok’s influence on its underage users. Roche also said that he is challenging the ToS update, claiming that the minors he represents could not agree to the new terms.

Numerous parents have filed lawsuits against TikTok since the app’s rise to the forefront of pop culture. A 2021 case related to the data privacy of minors ultimately resulted in a settlement that paid out $92 million to the plaintiffs. In a more recent legal challenge, the family of Nylah Anderson is holding TikTok accountable for her death. In 2021, ten-year-old Anderson passed away after attempting a “blackout challenge” that had spread on TikTok.

TikTok’s ToS changes could give it a leg up in some of these court clashes, but a few battles have already been lost. Earlier this week, a federal judge upheld a Texas mandate that banned TikTok on government devices in the Lone Star State.