A Tennessee college student is holding a new dating app accountable in court after discovering that her TikTok video was used without her consent to promote the app.
Kaelyn Lunglhofer, a University of Tennessee college student, was shocked and embarrassed to learn she had the viral video no one wants. She discovered her face was on advertisements for Meete, a hookup app, when a male classmate who lives in her dorm sent her the video ad and asked if it was really her.
She is now suing Quantum Communications (DBA Starpool Data Limited) for using her TikTok video in salacious ads to promote its dating app, Meete. According to court documents, Lunglhofer is seeking $750,000 in compensatory damages.
If you have a public social media account, this story might make you question your cybersecurity and who (or what) has access to your content.
More Than Just Embarrassment
Court filings state the company took public social media content from Lunglhofer’s TikTok account, using a 10‑second clip from her high school graduation video in an ad asking viewers, “Are you looking for a friend with benefits? This app shows you women around you who are looking for some fun. You can video chat with them.”
It’s no wonder Lunglhofer told ABC affiliate WKRN, “They’re making me look like a prostitute.” But perhaps even more insidious than the embarrassment this ad caused is the safety risk it poses.
The defendants use geotargeting technology in their advertising. This means the ad with Lunglhofer’s TikTok video targeted the social accounts of male users who were physically close to her, including men in her student housing building. This is likely how the male student in her dorm saw the ad. Not only does insinuating that young people nearby are willing and available for sexual encounters cause reputational harm, it’s dangerous.
The Claims Driving Lunglhofer’s Meete Lawsuit
Lunglhofer brings multiple claims, including:
- False endorsement under the Lanham Act, a type of trademark infringement that occurs when a business uses a person’s likeness in advertising without permission
- Violation of Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, a 2024 right‑of‑publicity law updated to address AI‑generated and digital replicas of a person’s voice or image.
- Common‑law right of publicity, which protects an individual’s right to control and profit from the commercial use of their likeness
- Defamation, based on the allegation that the ad falsely implied she was available for “friends with benefits” arrangements and that she endorsed the Meete app.
My Face Isn’t Free: How Did They Even Get My Photos?
Tech companies and AI developers use automated “web scraping” or “crawling” tools to collect public content (primarily pictures and videos) from social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Then, that scraped content is fed into AI training datasets or repurposed in ways the creator never agreed to—and often aren’t even aware of — including ads, deepfakes, or other AI‑generated content.
This happens at such a large scale that users often don’t realize their content has been harvested until it shows up somewhere unexpected, as in Lunglhofer’s case. But just because this is common doesn’t mean it’s normal or legal — it’s exploitation.
Lunglhofer May Have a Long Road Ahead
The defendants in this case — Quantum Communications Development Limited, Starpool Data Limited, and Guangzhou Yuedong Interconnection Technology — are based overseas. This makes it more difficult to hold them accountable under the American court system.
But these companies designed Meete to operate in the U.S. They filed for patents and trademarks in the U.S. They made their app available on the Apple Store and Google Play. They used U.S. social platforms like Snapchat for advertising.
Serving foreign companies and enforcing eventual U.S. court orders can be slow, expensive, and unpredictable. But U.S. courts can still assert jurisdiction when an overseas company intentionally targets U.S. users, profits from U.S. downloads, or runs ads aimed at people in a specific area—exactly what Lunglhofer alleges Meete did.
What’s at Stake for Meete and Other Apps
For Lunglhofer, this lawsuit isn’t really about the money—it’s about accountability and ensuring app developers and social platforms follow the law. “I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this,” she said. With help from her lawyer, Abe Pafford, Lunglhofer is seeking punitive damages and disgorgement of profits (which would require Meete to give up monetary gains obtained through her ad) in addition to the $750,000 in damages.
Despite the app’s 17 million global users, this would still be a significant financial blow. And more importantly, if successful, Lunglhofer’s case could send a strong message to online platforms that scraping users’ likenesses and repackaging them into ads — especially sexualized ones — comes with expensive legal consequences.
Related Resources
- Invasion of Privacy: Appropriation of Name and Likeness (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
- Can I Sue a Social Media Platform? (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
- Top 10 Legal Dating Tips When Using Apps (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
