TikTok, the video-sharing social media app facing global backlash over its ties to China, was fined 345 million euros ($368 million) in the European Union for alleged lapses in protecting children’s personal data.
The Irish Data Protection Commission found that TikTok failed to protect minors from unnecessary data processing and did not act in a transparent manner, according to a decision published on Friday.
The agency, which regulates the company because its EU base is in Dublin, gave TikTok a three-month ultimatum to comply with the EU’s strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for its data processing. The investigation covered the five-month period from July 2020 to December 31, 2020, and found that TikTok’s data processing during this period violated GDPR regulations regarding children aged 13 to 17 years.
Anu Talus, President of the European Data Protection Board, said: “Social media companies have a responsibility to avoid unfairly presenting choices to users, especially children, particularly if such presentation is likely to prompt people to take actions that infringe their privacy interests. Decision.” , a panel of national agencies that reviews the findings of local regulators in pan-EU cases.
The fine follows a rigorous review of the company’s child protection practices. The company, owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., is best known for its viral dance challenges. TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide, continues to face a potential ban after being added to the list earlier this month a list Tech companies have six months to comply with the EU’s strict new digital market rules.
“We respectfully disagree with this decision, particularly the size of the fine,” TikTok said in a statement. It said the Irish authorities’ “criticisms focused on functionality and settings from three years ago that we reviewed before the investigation began.” Changes were made, such as making all accounts under 16 private by default.”
In addition to EU scrutiny, U.S. lawmakers have proposed multiple bills that could block the app.In the EU and US, the company has established plan Isolate data on local servers and recruit in-country partners to oversee their data access controls.
The Irish regulator oversees dozens of big tech companies.it’s on two probes Enter TikTok in 2021, saying it is concerned that the data of young users is not adequately protected and wants to investigate the risk of “China’s maintenance and artificial intelligence engineers” accessing some TikTok user data.
Last year, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram was fined 405 million euros for mishandling children’s personal data.
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