After a trailblazing six years since launch, Tik Tok has grown to become the most downloaded app in the world. This success is bitter sweet as the short-video sharing app has been hit with a string of lawsuits, all alleging that their in-app browser illegally tracks user behavior and violates child data protection laws.

These lawsuits claim that TikTok's source code enables the app to monitor how users interact with any website they access through the app, potentially allowing the company to track keystrokes and collect other sensitive information.

At the heart of the investigation is the question of data privacy. The plaintiffs argue that TikTok's tracking capabilities violate their privacy rights and could expose them to significant harm. For example, one plaintiff claims that TikTok's tracking could potentially reveal highly intimate information, such as a user's pregnancy status, without their knowledge or consent.

TikTok, for its part, has denied any wrongdoing. The company has acknowledged that certain features do exist in the app's source code, but maintains that these features are only used for "debugging, troubleshooting, and performance monitoring."TikTok's privacy policy also explicitly states that the company "collects certain information" about its users' devices, including "keystroke patterns or rhythms."

Despite TikTok's claims, the legal and public scrutiny around the app's tracking capabilities continues to mount.

However, TikTok is not the first social media platform to face scrutiny for violating data privacy. During a recent hearing, Shou Zi Chew, CEO of Tik Tok pointed out that “…American social media companies don’t have a good track record with data privacy and user security. I mean, look at Facebook and Cambridge Analytics as an example”. Chew's comments are a reminder of the larger issues surrounding consumer data handling.

As the trial continues, the legal implications are still unclear, but Chew has made it clear that “American data will be stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel”.

Despite the uncertainty, the ongoing scrutiny around TikTok's tracking capabilities serves as a reminder of the importance of data privacy and the need for companies to be transparent about how they collect and use user data. It remains to be seen whether TikTok will be able to reassure its users that their data is safe and secure.