The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the United Kingdom has fined TikTok £12.7 million for violating data protection laws, particularly rules intended to safeguard children.
The Information Commissioner’s Office ruled that TikTok did not adequately monitor who was using their platform and did not take adequate steps to remove minors who were using the site.
TikTok failed to obtain parental authorization as required by UK legislation for organisations that use personal information when offering services to children under 13.
The Information Commissioner’s Office reported that TikTok allowed over 1.4 million UK children under 13 to use the social media platform despite having restrictions barring children under 13 from creating accounts.
In addition, the ICO determined that TikTok failed to ensure that the personal data of British users was processed lawfully, fairly, and openly.
TikTok “failed to carry out adequate checks to identify and remove underage children from its platform,” according to the ICO. Under U.K. legislation, organisations that use personal data while delivering services to children under 13 are required to obtain parental consent; TikTok did not comply.
“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.” – John Edwards, U.K. Information Commissioner.
“As a consequence, an estimated 1 million under 13s were inappropriately granted access to the platform, with TikTok collecting and using their personal data,” he said. “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.”
A spokesman for TikTok told The Hill via email that the company “invest heavily” to keep minors under 13 off the platform.
“While we disagree with the ICO’s decision, which relates to May 2018-July 2020, we are pleased that the fine announced today has been reduced to under half the amount proposed last year. “We will continue to review the decision and are considering next steps,” the spokesperson said.
Edwards also stated, “TikTok should have been more discerning. TikTok should have done better”
Source – Tru News Report
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