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Tik Tok Settlement Allows Opt-Outs

A person holds a smartphone as Tik Tok logo is displayed behind in this picture illustration taken November 7, 2019. Taken 11.7.2019
A person holds a smartphone as Tik Tok logo is displayed behind in this picture illustration taken November 7, 2019. Taken 11.7.2019

In a boon for consumers, the judge overseeing a $92 million class action settlement of claims that TikTok Inc improperly harvested users’ private data ruled on Thursday that 851 class members can opt out of the deal, despite TikTok’s claims that the opt-outs were improperly solicited.

Some members of the privacy class-action lawsuit against China's social media company believe they can recover more from TikTok in individual arbitration -- and Thursday’s ruling from U.S. District Judge John Lee of Chicago means that 851 of them can attempt to do just that.

About 1.2 million TikTok users submitted claims, according to Thursday’s decision, out of an estimated 89 million TikTok users in the class, for an overall claims rate of 1.4%. (The claims rate was higher, 13%, for a subclass of Illinois residents who alleged violations of the state’s biometric privacy law.)

Judge Lee granted final approval to the $92 million nationwide settlement with video sharing service TikTok and its parent, ByteDance Inc, on Thursday. The judge also awarded about $29 million in fees to class counsel from Lynch Carpenter; Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks Lincenberg & Rhow; FeganScott and a host of other plaintiffs' firms that did work for the class that launched the suit.

TikTok has denied harvesting biometric data at all and has said it did not compromise users' privacy.

A handful of plaintiffs' firms had objected to the deal’s stringent rules for opt-outs, arguing that law firms should instead be permitted to opt out their clients en masse, via a single electronic filing, rather than advising their clients to complete, sign and submit individual opt-out forms. Lee nixed that request.

Tik Tok defense lawyers at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, & Rosati had argued that the plaintiffs' firms had improperly solicited clients with deceptive ads, then used internet technology to obtain electronic “signatures” from potentially unwitting class members.

“This technology does not change the fact that these firms are still soliciting and submitting opt-out requests en masse to disrupt the court-approved settlement,” the TikTok brief argued. “All of the same concerns discussed with traditional mass opt-outs still apply to these mass-auto-generated individual electronic opt-outs.”

But the TikTok opt-out plaintiffs’ firms said their situation is not analogous. In a strong response to TikTok, they said they didn’t use deceptive ads – and that if anyone is being deceptive, it’s TikTok, which accused them of running one ad they had nothing to do with and claiming another solicitation was misleading when, in fact, it contained no misrepresentations.

TikTok’s “speculative and unprofessional attacks,” the plaintiffs' firms said, were really just an attempt to stymie class members trying to exercise their contractual right to arbitrate. “In TikTok’s view, absentee class members not only should be deprived of their due process rights to opt out, they also lose a right to hire counsel,” the brief said. “This position is contrary to the law, ethics and reason.”

TikTok lawyer Tony Weibell of Wilson Sonsini declined to provide a statement on the opt-out issue. Opt-out lawyers Yana Hart of Clarkson, Michael Kind of Kind Law and Joshua Swigart didn’t respond to email requests for comment.

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Dispute Over Technology Impedes Morocco Solar Projects

FILE —Aerial view of the Noor 3 solar power station, near Ouarzazate, southern Morocco, April. 1, 2017. The king unveiled one of the world's biggest solar plants, taking advantage of the Sahara sunshine and a growing global push for renewable energy.
FILE —Aerial view of the Noor 3 solar power station, near Ouarzazate, southern Morocco, April. 1, 2017. The king unveiled one of the world's biggest solar plants, taking advantage of the Sahara sunshine and a growing global push for renewable energy.

RABAT —A dispute over concentrated solar power (CSP) technology is behind years of delays to Morocco's biggest planned solar project after problems at another prominent plant that caused long shut downs, three sources close to the project said.

FILE —A picture taken on February 4, 2016 shows an aerial view of the solar mirrors at the Noor 1 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, some 20Km (12.5 miles) outside the central Moroccan town of Ouarzazate, ahead of its inauguration.
FILE —A picture taken on February 4, 2016 shows an aerial view of the solar mirrors at the Noor 1 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, some 20Km (12.5 miles) outside the central Moroccan town of Ouarzazate, ahead of its inauguration.

Morocco has some of the most ambitious green energy goals of any developing nation, aiming for renewables to represent 52% of installed capacity by 2030 from 37.6% now, mostly through investments in solar and wind plants.

However, it is already falling behind on solar, with only 831 megawatts (MW) installed so far compared to the 2,000 MW that was planned for 2020. Wind has made up some of the shortfall but polluting coal plants still make up most output. Construction has not even started on the planned $2 billion 800 MW Noor Midelt I plant, which was meant to start operating this year, after the Energy Ministry and grid operator ONEE rejected the proposed CSP technology, the sources said.

FILE —An aerial view of the solar mirrors at the Noor 1 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, some 20Km (12.5 miles) outside the central Moroccan town of Ouarzazate on February 4, 2016.
FILE —An aerial view of the solar mirrors at the Noor 1 Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, some 20Km (12.5 miles) outside the central Moroccan town of Ouarzazate on February 4, 2016.

State energy agency MASEN awarded the contract to develop Noor Midelt I in 2019 to a consortium led by EDF Renouvelables. It asked for the plant to have both photovoltaic (PV) technology, which is cheaper but has little ability to store power, and CSP, which is more expensive but continue powering the grid for hours after dark.

However, after the contract was awarded ONEE and the Energy Ministry said they would only agree to buy the power if MASEN either abandoned CSP for PV or changed from thermal salt energy storage to batteries, the sources said.

MASEN and the grid eventually signed a power purchase agreement, but there are still discussions between MASEN and the development consortium over the technology specifications, the sources said.

MASEN says the project was delayed due to the pandemic and is now in the final stage of development but it did not respond to a specific Reuters request for comment on the technology dispute.

FILE—Pablo Ines, of Spain, walks in the building site of Morocco's Noor I solar power plant, near Ouarzazate, Morocco, April, 24, 2015 .
FILE—Pablo Ines, of Spain, walks in the building site of Morocco's Noor I solar power plant, near Ouarzazate, Morocco, April, 24, 2015 .

EDF Renouvelables said Morocco had decided to restart the development in 2022 with a mix of PV, CSP and battery storage. It said the project was "at the final stage of development" and all partners "remain committed."

The Energy Ministry did not comment directly on the problems at Noor Midelt but it said it "tries to be as technology agnostic" as it can as long as costs, sustainability and security objectives are maintained to avoid undue risk.

The World Bank and the European Investment Bank said their financing terms for the project remain valid as discussions continue between MASEN and the consortium. The World Bank said construction will take 30 months once negotiations end.

CSP Plant Difficulties

ONEE cited problems at Noor Ouarzazate, Morocco's best-known solar complex, as the reason for wanting MASEN to change the technology at Noor Midelt, the sources said.

FILE — King Mohammed VI of Morocco waves a Moroccan flag as Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy CEO Mustapha Bakkoury, 2nd right, applauds during the launch of the Noor Ouarzazate 4 solar plant, in Ouarzazate, central Morocco, April 1, 2017.
FILE — King Mohammed VI of Morocco waves a Moroccan flag as Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy CEO Mustapha Bakkoury, 2nd right, applauds during the launch of the Noor Ouarzazate 4 solar plant, in Ouarzazate, central Morocco, April 1, 2017.

Technological problems stopped all output at a 150 MW plant there for a year from summer 2021, said two of the sources. "Noor Ouarzazate helped put Morocco on the global map of large-scale renewable energy projects. But a closer look in terms of operation costs and maintenance issues show that the plant is rather a liability," said a source close to Noor Midelt I.

"With hindsight, Ouarzazate served as a testing ground for an immature CSP technology," said another source.

Morocco's economic, social, and environmental council recommended abandoning CSP altogether in a 2020 report due to its high cost compared to PV and wind. That report said MASEN was operating an $80 million a year deficit at the Noor Ouarzazate complex because it is selling power for less than the production cost.

MASEN, which commissioned Noor Ouarzazate, said the plant had shown "good performance in 2023 both on peak and off-peak hours." It added that CSP technology was a solution that offers storage, helping address grid needs at peak hours.

ACWA Power, the developer of Noor Ouarzazate, and grid operator ONEE did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

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