TikTok is fined 14.5 million euros in the UK for violating the privacy of children

TikTok has been fined more than 14.5 million euros by the British ICO. According to that regulator, the platform violated various privacy laws. TikTok used, among other things, personal data of children under the age of 13, without the consent of their parents.

The Information Commissioner’s Office states that TikTok allowed up to 1.4 million British children under the age of thirteen to use its platform, despite its own rules prohibiting children of that age from creating an account. UK rules state that platforms must seek parental consent to use personal data of such minors. The ICO states that TikTok did not, although it “should have known” that minors were using its platform. TikTok has failed to implement adequate controls to identify and remove minors from its platform.

An investigation by the regulator shows that some senior staff had internally raised concerns that children under the age of 13 were using the platform and not being removed. The ICO believes that TikTok has not responded adequately to this. TikTok “may have used the data to track and profile minors,” said John Edwards, the British Information Commissioner. According to the ICO, the breaches took place between May 2018 and July 2020.

The ICO announced last year that it was investigating TikTok for possible violation of children’s privacy. The regulator then spoke of a fine of 27 million pounds, which translates to 30.9 million euros. A TikTok spokesperson says to Reuters disagreeing with the decision of the ICO, but happy that the amount of the fine has been reduced to 14.5 million euros. The company says it is considering its next steps.