On Tuesday (Apr 4), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it had fined TikTok £12.7 million (US$15.9 million) for violating data protection laws, including using the personal data of children under 13 without obtaining parental consent.
The ICO estimated that, in 2020, TikTok allowed up to 1.4 million UK children under 13 to use its platform, despite setting the minimum age to create an account at 13.
The data breaches occurred between May 2018 and July 2020, with the Chinese-owned video app failing to conduct sufficient checks to verify users’ ages and remove underage children. UK Information Commissioner John Edwards stated that laws are in place to ensure children’s safety in the digital world, just as they are in the physical world, and TikTok did not comply with those laws.
He added that the use of children’s data may have enabled the tracking and profiling of children, which could have resulted in exposing them to harmful or inappropriate content.
According to a TikTok spokesperson, the company disagrees with the ICO’s decision. Also it is satisfied that the fine was reduced from the possible 27 million pounds that the ICO had previously set out 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 the App on official devices over security concerns.
