TikTok is fined £12.7million for data protection law breaches as watchdog says more than one million children under 13 were using the platform in 2020 despite its terms of use forbidding that
- Tiktok has been fined £12.7million for a string of UK data protection law breaches
- Data watchdog blasted Tiktok after over a million children were found to use it
TikTok has been fined £12.7 million for a number of data protection law breaches, including failing to use children’s personal data lawfully, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said.
The ICO said more than one million children under 13 were using TikTok in 2020, despite its terms of use not allowing that.
It added that personal data belonging to those children was used without parental consent and that the company did not do enough to check who was using the social media app and take enough action to remove the underage children that were.
TikTok had faced a fine of £27 million, but the final total was reduced to £12.7 million.
Information commissioner John Edwards said: ‘There are laws in place to make sure our children are as safe in the digital world as they are in the physical world. TikTok did not abide by those laws.
TikTok has been fined £12.7 million for a number of data protection law breaches, including failing to use children’s personal data lawfully
‘As a consequence, an estimated one million under 13s were inappropriately granted access to the platform, with TikTok collecting and using their personal data. That means that their data may have been used to track them and profile them, potentially delivering harmful, inappropriate content at their very next scroll.
‘TikTok should have known better. TikTok should have done better. Our £12.7m fine reflects the serious impact their failures may have had.’
Children’s data may have been used to track and profile them, potentially presenting them with harmful or inappropriate content, he added.
A TikTok spokesperson said the company disagreed with the ICO’s decision but was pleased the fine had been reduced from the possible 27 million pounds set out by the ICO last year.
‘We invest heavily to help keep under 13s off the platform and our 40,000 strong safety team works around the clock to help keep the platform safe for our community,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We will continue to review the decision and are considering next steps.’
The ICO’s fine follows moves by Western governments and institutions in recent weeks, including Britain, to bar usage of TikTok on official devices over security concerns.
In 2019, US regulators hit the company with a 5.7 million dollar (£4.5 million) fine for similar practices related to improper data collection from children under 13.
Earlier on Tuesday, Australia became the latest country to ban the Chinese-owned app from its federal government’s devices.
Last month the UK Government said it would block TikTok from its devices and networks over safety concerns, with the Scottish Government following suit.
TikTok, owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, has regularly said that it does not share data with China.
But Beijing’s intelligence legislation requires firms to help the Communist Party when requested.
TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew also made a rare public appearance to be questioned by the US Congress over data security and user safety.
‘Let me state this unequivocally, ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,’ he said, as he made his case for why the popular app should not be banned, at the March hearing.
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