TikTok Fined £12.7 Million By UK Watchdog For Violating Child Data Privacy Laws
TikTok, the social media app, has been fined by the UK watchdog for violating child data privacy laws. The watchdog has found that the company has failed to provide sufficient protection for children under the age of 13.
In recent news, TikTok has been fined £12.7 million in the UK for violating data protection laws by illegally collecting and sharing children’s personal data. TikTok allowed 1.4 million children under the age of 13 to use the app in 2020. This incident has sparked concerns among parents and users of the platform about their privacy and security on the app. In this article, we will explore the details of the incident and provide insights into how users can protect their personal data while using TikTok.
TikTok’s data misuse incident
TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was found guilty of violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by collecting personal data of children under the age of 13 without parental consent. The data collected included names, email addresses, and dates of birth, and was shared with third-party advertisers for targeted marketing purposes.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK conducted an investigation into TikTok’s practices and found that the app did not have adequate safeguards in place to protect children’s personal data. The ICO also found that TikTok had failed to give clear information to users about how their data was being used.
TikTok’s response to the incident:
TikTok has stated that it takes the privacy and security of its users seriously and has since made changes to its policies and practices to address the issues raised by the ICO. The app now requires users to provide their age when creating an account, and those under the age of 16 have restricted access to certain features.
TikTok has also announced plans to build a data center in Europe to store European user data and improve data protection. The company has stated that it will continue to work with regulators to ensure compliance with data protection laws.
The ICO found that the app had failed to obtain sufficient consent from parents before allowing children to use the app. TikTok has also failed to disclose the amount of personal data that it collects from children, which includes their location, biometric data, and video content. The watchdog has also discovered that the app had exposed children’s data to potential hackers due to weak security measures.
