UK fines TikTok $15.8 million for GDPR violation of children’s privacy
The
UK’s
Information
Commissioner’s
Office
announced
today
that
it
has
levied
a
nearly
$16
million
fine
against
TikTok
for
“a
number
of
breaches”
of
the
country’s
data
protection
law.
The
UK’s
Information
Commissioner’s
Office
announced
today
that
it
has
levied
a
nearly
$16
million
fine
against
TikTok
for
“a
number
of
breaches”
of
the
country’s
data
protection
law.
Central
to
the
ICO’s
decision
to
fine
TikTok
are
the
estimated
1.4
million
UK
children
under
13
years
of
age,
who
were
allowed
to
sign
up
for
the
platform
in
2020,
despite
the
company’s
own
rules
barring
such
use.
That’s
a
violation
of
UK’s
General
Data
Protection
Regulation
(similar
to
the
EU’s
GDPR),
the
ICO
said
in
a
statement.
The
UK
GDPR
requires
that
companies
that
use
personal
data
to
offer
services
to
children
under
13
need
a
parent
or
guardian’s
permission
to
do
so.
The
regulator
also
noted
that
“senior
employees”
at
TikTok
were
aware
of
underage
users
on
the
platform,
and
did
not
respond
adequately
to
the
issue.
“There
are
laws
in
place
to
make
sure
our
children
our
as
safe
in
the
digital
world
as
they
are
in
the
physical
world,”
said
UK
Information
Commissioner
John
Edwards
in
the
statement.
“TikTok
should
have
known
better.
TikTok
should
have
done
better.”
The
ICO
also
charged
TikTok
with
failing
to
offer
clear
information
to
users
about
how
their
personal
information
is
collected
and
used,
as
well
as
with
failing
to
ensure
that
user
data
was
processed
lawfully.
The
UK
government
had
originally
intended
to
fine
TikTok
more
than
twice
as
much
as
today’s
$15.8
million.
However,
today’s
ICO
statement
said
that
the
company’s
arguments
convinced
regulators
not
to
pursue
an
earlier,
provisional
finding
that
it
had
also
used
special
category
data
unlawfully,
bringing
the
total
fine
down
from
an
original
figure
of
$33.7
million.
“Our
[$15.8
million]
fine
reflects
the
serious
impact
their
failures
may
have
had,”
Edwards
stated.
“They
did
not
do
enough
to
check
who
was
using
their
platform
or
take
sufficient
action
to
remove
the
underage
children
that
were
using
their
platform.”
TikTok
said
in
a
statement
that
it
is
reviewing
the
decision.
While
it
disagrees
with
the
UK’s
action,
a
spokesperson
said
that
that
the
company
is
pleased
that
regulators
reduced
the
total
fine
from
its
original
amount.
“TikTok
is
a
platform
for
users
aged
13
and
over,”
the
spokesperson
said.
“We
invest
heavily
to
keep
under-13s
off
the
platform.”
The
Chinese-owned
social
media
giant
has
long
been
under
fire
from
western
regulators
for
privacy
concerns.
Several
countries
—
including
the
US,
UK
and
Canada
—
have
banned
it
from
use
on
government
devices,
while
Australia
and
New
Zealand
have
similar
restrictions
pending.
About Author
