UK watchdog fines TikTok £12.7 million for child data misuse
THE UK data regulator fined TikTok £12.7 million (S$21.05 million) for using children’s personal data unlawfully, amid mounting concerns over the social media platform’s use of data.
The Information Commissioner’s Office said in a statement on Tuesday (Apr 4) it estimated that TikTok had 1.4 million users under 13 in the UK in 2020, despite its own terms of service preventing children of that age from creating an account. TikTok used children’s personal data without parental consent and failed to carry out adequate checks, according to the ICO.
The fine comes amid a crackdown on TikTok in the US, Europe and other allies, as politicians cite concerns about links with the app’s Chinese-backed parent company, ByteDance. Bans on the use of TikTok on some government-issued devices have been introduced in many countries, including in the UK.
Children’s data “may have been used to track them and profile them, potentially delivering harmful, inappropriate content at their very next scroll,” Information Commissioner John Edwards said in the statement.
The investigation found that between May 2018 and July 2020 the video-sharing platform breached the UK version of Europe’s data rules, the General Data Protection Regulation.
The ICO said a concern had been raised internally with senior employees about children under 13 using the platform and not being removed, and in the regulator’s view TikTok did not respond adequately. TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In September, the ICO previously set out a possible £27 million fine for the video-sharing service, but the watchdog decided not to pursue a provisional finding about the use of so-called special category data, which relates to user characteristics such as ethnicity and sexual orientation. BLOOMBERG
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