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TikTok fine overview:
- Who: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a “notice of intent” to potentially fine TikTok up to £27 million.
- Why: The potential TikTok fine follows an investigation that the ICO says revealed the company may violate UK’s data protection law by allegedly failing to protect its child users’ privacy.
- Where: Consumers across the UK use TikTok.
TikTok could be facing a fine of £27 million after an investigation determined that it may have violated UK’s data protection law by allegedly failing to protect children’s data privacy.
The investigation, conducted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), found that TikTok did not receive appropriate parental consent before it potentially processed the data of users under the age of 13, Reuters reports.
The ICO also reportedly determined in its investigation that TikTok failed to provide its users with proper and transparent information during what was suggested to be between May 2018 and July 2020.
Following the investigation, TikTok has been given a “notice of intent” by the ICO, which is done before a potential fine is ultimately levied, according to a statement by the regulator.
ICO says TikTok ‘fell short’ of meeting children’s data privacy requirements
“Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place, but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement,” Information Commissioner John Edwards says in the statement.
A £27 million fine would be the largest amount in the history of TikTok while the maximum amount the ICO can fine is 4% of the short-form video hosting service’s global annual turnover, The Guardian reports.
The ICO noted that its findings are “provisional” and that “no conclusion should be drawn at this stage that there has, in fact, been any breach of data protection law or that a financial penalty will ultimately be imposed.”
“We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections,” Edwards says.
In related news, former children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield filed a class action lawsuit against TikTok last year over allegations the company illegally harvested the data of its child users.
The class action lawsuit is similar to one filed against TikTok by a 12-year-old girl in 2020 who argued the company unlawfully processes the data of children. Her claims were given the OK to move forward earlier this year.
What do you think of the TikTok fine? Do you believe the company failed to legally protect children’s data privacy? Let us know in the comments!
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