The Real Housewives of New York City alum, 51, says she was “violated” by the Chinese social media giant and is suing TikTok after her image was allegedly used without her permission to sell counterfeit products.
“I know I was violated and I don’t really give up until I get what I deserve,” she told Newsweek.
Frankel was shocked to learn that not only was her image allegedly being used without her consent, but the goods being sold with her false endorsement were shoddy, leading to a wave of intense criticism leveled at the mom-of-one.
She became an “accidental influencer” on TikTok when she tried her hand on the short video platform after seeing how much her daughter Bryn, 12, loved it.
Well known for not holding back her thoughts when publishing on the platform, Frankel has amassed one million fans and regularly gets thousands of views per video.
However, things took an unfortunate turn when one day she was inundated with messages from angry fans blasting her over a cardigan they thought she had endorsed.
The cardigan in question turned out to be of inferior quality and fans accused her of “selling out.”
“I was confused because I thought it was a cardigan post that I had done and about two different brands of cardigans I was talking about,” she said.
“I thought people were going crazy and just happened to not like something that I did because that happens often, you do something it hits sideways, and so I thought what the hell is going on?”
It turned out many of her fans had bought the clothing from a direct link on TikTok to an online website which seemed genuine but was allegedly selling counterfeit items.
Everything came crashing down for Frankel who immediately reached out to her team to figure out what was going and decided to post a TikTok explaining the situation, describing it as a “scam.”
It was quickly removed by TikTok and labelled as “abusive,” according to Frankel, who “kept getting messages” from angry fans.
“I felt completely helpless,” she said.
“You try to tell the people that are on this platform, and then you’re taken down as abusive, and it’s insane.”
Frankel described how the situation had “taken over everything” and she was at home with Bryn trying to explain why her hands were suddenly full trying to clear her name.
“I’m trying to explain it to her like, ‘Bryn I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry’,” Frankel said.
“I don’t have a nanny or anything. I’ve always [focused] on my daughter when I’m with my daughter. And I was like, ‘I’m sorry, I got to deal with this mom’.”
Last year, TikTok partnered with shopping platform Shopify to make in-app purchases easier for its one billion users.
It allows TikTok For Business accounts to add shopping tab profiles and sync the products they are selling so users can buy their products directly via a digital storefront known as the TikTok Shop.
However, TikTok users have regularly reported buying “dupes” or counterfeit products and not realizing until they had their good in their hands.
While it not known how many counterfeit goods are sold through TikTok, a BBC News investigation found it was costing the economy billions of dollars.
The TikTok Shop “has zero tolerance towards counterfeit products” and warned it has “particularized the way we use to keep counterfeit products out of the TikTok Shop, and to dealing with breaches of the policy,” according to its policy documents.
Also, in a statement to another media outlet, TikTok cited its “strict policies to both protect people’s hard-earned intellectual property and keep misleading content off of TikTok.”
It also has a policy to suspend seller accounts, restrict listings, terminate accounts or even take legal action against suspected of violating intellectual property rules.
But this was apparently not what happened when Frankel reported the accounts, and so she decided to “take this into my own hands” and confronted TikTok herself.
She is fighting TikTok not only because she wants compensation for the use of her likeness, but also for the potential damage to her reputation after being associated with the products.
Furthermore, she is concerned about what impact this issue was having on smaller content creators and also her fans who were duped.
She compared the TikTok dispute with going through her public divorce and knew she had a platform she needed to use to speak up for others.
“It was very uncomfortable… but at least I have a voice and I have some power and I’m still going through this. What must it be like for another person?” Frankel questioned.
Frankel has no plans to back down from the issue and hopes to convince TikTok along with other social media platforms to enact policy to protect content makers and consumers.
The campaign, launched under the hashtag #BethennysContentClause, will call on TikTok to protect creators’ content from being misused and misrepresented.
The influencer is also calling for the change to protect consumers by labeling suspicious content or content selling counterfeit goods.
She hired attorneys John Morgan and John Yanchunis to represent her in the class action and they’ve called on other creators to send in their experiences of social media scams for them to investigate.
Yanchunis accused TikTok of “avoidance” amid Frankel’s ongoing pleas and that he and Frankel had no intention of “backing down.”
“They’ve not addressed the underlying root cause of what is happening here,” he told Newsweek.
The law firm is looking for compensation for Frankel and the potentially thousands of other people affected who have had “their likeness or images used to sell counterfeit goods, or simply to market anything.”
“As well ensuring real change and that the appropriate enforcement arm prevents this from happening again and when it’s detected, take swift action,” Yanchunis said.
He praised his client for taking on the behemoth and speaking up for others who did not have her influence.
“The financial size of TikTok means individuals would be somewhat reluctant to speak out. And Ms Frankel is not one of those individuals… We won’t back down,” the counsel added.
Frankel added that she would take the fight to Congress if she needed to and would keep fighting until she’d won.
“It’s become a commerce marketplace that is not controlled… it’s an open market place that our kids are on and there needs to be regulation and control,” Frankel said.
Newsweek has reached out to TikTok for comment.
