UK privacy regulator fines TikTok €14.5m

A €14.5 million fine imposed on TikTok in the United Kingdom, in part for allowing users under the age of 13 to use the platform.

TikTok has been fined £12.7m (€14.5m) by the UK data privacy regulator for several violations of data protection laws, including in the company’s management of children’s personal information. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) explains that in 2020, TikTok allowed 1.4 million children under the age of 13 to use the app in violation of its own rules.

In the UK, TikTok has been fined 14.5 million euros.

The ICO says companies offering “business information services”to young people under 13 must obtain consent from the children’s legal guardians. TikTok did not do this, according to the regulator, who elaborates that the company “should have known that young people under the age of 13 were using its platform.”In addition, a (non-departmental) government body said that TikTok has not done enough to try to prevent underage users from using the app, despite several senior officials expressing their concerns about it.

The regulator determined that TikTok violated the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in several ways between May 2018 and July 2020. Among other things, the ICO alleges that TikTok did not inform users in an easy-to-understand manner about the processing and sharing of their data. In fact, TikTok users, including children, “couldn’t make an informed decision about their interaction”with the app. The office added that TikTok had failed to process data from UK users in a “lawful, fair and transparent manner.”

for allowing users under the age of 13 to use the platform

“We invest heavily to keep users under the age of 13 from using the platform, and our security team is working hard to keep the platform safe for our community,” TikTok told ABC News. “We will continue to analyze this decision and are already considering the next steps.”