TikTok has been fined £12.7 million by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK for breaching data protection laws. The ICO claims that TikTok allowed as many as 1.4 million children under the age of 13 to use the app in violation of its rules, and that the company did not obtain consent from parents or guardians, as required. The regulator also accused TikTok of failing to remove underage users from the app, despite concerns raised by senior employees.
Read: Asus ROG Phone 6 Review: Game On
The ICO found that TikTok breached the UK General Data Protection Regulation in multiple ways between May 2018 and July 2020. The office stated that TikTok did not provide users with clear information about how their data was being handled, making it difficult for users to make informed choices about using the app.
In response, TikTok stated that it invests heavily in keeping under-13s off the platform, and that its safety team works around the clock to ensure that the app is safe for its users. The company also said that it would review the decision and consider next steps.
The fine is lower than the £27 million ($33.7 million) that the ICO had originally warned TikTok it could face. The regulator began investigating TikTok in February 2019 and issued preliminary findings last year. The company was fined $5.7 million by the Federal Trade Commission in the US for violating child privacy regulations.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has faced scrutiny over privacy and security concerns in several countries, with some governments worried that the company could be forced to share user data with Chinese officials. TikTok has denied that ByteDance is an agent of any government.
The app has been banned from government devices in several countries, including the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, and the European Parliament. Dozens of US states have also prohibited TikTok on devices they own. Some bills have been introduced in the US that would give the government the power to ban the app entirely, while TikTok has claimed that the White House is pressuring ByteDance to sell the app.
