TikTok fined 12.7 million pounds (14.44 million Swiss francs) in the UK for breaching children’s data protection. The company allowed up to 1.4 million children under the age of 13 to open accounts in the country in 2020 — even though its own rules prohibited it.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the British data protection authority, announced this on Tuesday. Personal data from children was used without parental consent, although British law requires it.
TikTok failed to implement adequate controls to identify and remove minors from its platform,” it said. Although some senior executives raised concerns internally, the company did not respond properly. “TikTok should have known better. TikTok should have done better,” said John Edwards, head of the agency. “Our £12.7 million fine reflects the serious impact their mistakes could have had.”
Originally, the commission imposed a fine of £27 million. However, after objections from TikTok, it was decided not to pursue “initial findings regarding illegal use” of certain data types.
In this context, the supervisory authority has issued a code for the protection of children in the digital world. The regulations target online services such as apps, gaming sites and social media sites.
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