TikTok has received a fine of 12.7 million pounds from the United Kingdom for violations of data protection rules.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the United Kingdom has issued a fine of £12.7 million on the video-sharing application TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese Government.
The fine was issued for repeated violations of data protection rules.
TikTok allegedly violated the privacy of children less than 13 years old, according to the findings of an inquiry conducted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
According to a statement released by John Edward, the Information Commissioner on Tuesday, TikTok allowed around one million minors under the age of 13 access to its website and utilised the personal data of these users.
He accused TikTok of not doing enough to monitor who was using their platform, adding that the punishment reflects the significant impact their failings may have had. He said that TikTok deserved the fine because of the serious impact their failures may have had.
He accused TikTok of not doing enough to monitor who was using their platform, adding that the punishment reflects the significant impact their failings may have had. He said that TikTok deserved the fine because of the serious impact their failures may have had.
Read also: FTC Fines Twitter $150 Million for Data Privacy Violation
UK’s Information Commissioner’s Statement
Edward said that TikTok did not comply with the laws that are in place to protect children from harm.
He added “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 1 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. They did not do enough to check who was using their platform or take sufficient action to remove the underage children that were using their platform.” The commissioner stated.
TikTok’s Response
Despite the fact that TikTok disagreed with the decision made by the ICO, the company expressed its contentment with the fact that the fine that was declared was only half of the amount that had been suggested the previous year.
One of the company’s spokespeople stated that they plan to keep analysing the decision and are now contemplating the next measures to take.
According to the social media app, “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 to 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 the next steps.” The statement reads.
TikTok creators can now restrict videos to adult viewers only
About TikTok
TikTok is an app that enables users to create and share short videos on any subject. You can view TikTok videos using the web app, despite it being mobile-based. Using filters, decals, voiceovers, sound effects, and background music, the platform enables users to be imaginative with their content.
The majority of the app’s consumers are young people from around the world. It allows users to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing, as well as create and share videos with the community.
In record time, TikTok entered the ranks of social media titans after its debut in its current guise in 2018. By September 2021, it had approximately one billion active monthly users worldwide.
Data.ai (formerly App Annie) predicted in a marketing report for 2022 that TikTok would surpass three billion downloads worldwide and $3 billion in user expenditure across iOS and Google Play by the end of the previous year. Although the app has not yet reached 3 billion downloads, it is near, with over 2.5 billion downloads to date.