Tiktok (unsplash photo)
The Chinese app “TikTok” has been fined approximately $16 million by UK privacy regulators for failing to protect the data of minor users on the platform, another blow to the company in a series of actions by regulators around the world.
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said in a statement on Tuesday that it was fining TikTok for “a number of breaches of data protection law, including improper use of personal data of lawful minors”.
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TikTok allowed 1.4 million children under 13 to use the app in 2020, despite its rules requiring users to be over that age to create an account on the platform, said John Edwards, Britain’s information commissioner.
“Our fine reflects the serious impact their failings had. They did not do enough to check who was using their platform or take sufficient action to remove the minors who were using their platform,” he added.
The ICO previously proposed fining TikTok £25m for similar privacy breaches.
The punishment comes amid calls to ban the use of the application in the US due to national security concerns, and after several countries around the world have banned the installation of the application on phones owned by government officials.
The CEO of “TikTok” Shu Zi-Chu addressed last month the app’s security concerns of US lawmakers. He denied that the app had any ties to the Chinese government and that he had never had conversations with Chinese government officials.
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