TikTok fined £12.7million for data protection breaches including the use of children’s personal data

TikTok is facing unprecedented scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, Sejal Karia reports

TikTok has been fined £12.7 million for a number of data protection law breaches, including failing to use children’s personal data lawfully, the Information Commissioner’s Office said.

Originally the social media giant was slapped with a £27 million penalty, but the final total was reduced to £12.7 million, due to changes made by the app.

The ICO said more than one million children under 13 were using TikTok in 2020, despite its terms of use not allowing that.

It added that personal data belonging to those children was used without parental consent and the company did not do enough to check who was using the social media app and take enough action to remove the underage children that were.

Information Commissioner John Edwards said: “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.

“As a consequence, an estimated one million under 13s were inappropriately granted access to the platform, with TikTok collecting and using their personal data. 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.

“TikTok should have known better. TikTok should have done better. Our £12.7m fine reflects the serious impact their failures may have had.”

TikTok said that it disagrees with a £12.7 million fine issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office for failures around the use of the personal data of children and is “considering next steps”.

A spokesperson for the app said: “TikTok is a platform for users aged 13 and over. 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.

“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.”

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