TikTok Fined €345 Million by EU for Child Data Breaches

A European Union regulator has imposed a €345 million ($369 million) fine on Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok for breaches related to child data protection.

The fine was handed down by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) following a two-year inquiry into TikTok’s practices.

The DPC, which plays a central role in enforcing EU data rules, began examining TikTok’s compliance with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in September 2021. It assessed TikTok’s platform settings, personal data processing for users under 18, and age verification measures for users under 13.

While no infringements were found in age verification measures for those under 13, the DPC identified that TikTok didn’t adequately assess the risks for younger users signing up for the service. Notably, it found that children signing up had their TikTok accounts set to public by default, allowing anyone to view or comment on their content.

The DPC also criticized TikTok’s “family pairing” mode, designed to link parents’ accounts to their teenagers’ accounts, as the company failed to verify parent or guardian status.

• TikTok User Sentenced to 3 Years Imprisonment for Cyberstalking
• Group Calls on Rivers State to Protect Environment Amidst Flooding Concerns
• EU Foreign Policy Chief Expresses Concern Over Gabon Coup
• Edo State Deputy Governor Seeks Legal Protection Amidst Impeachment Concerns
• Tribunal Dismisses Claims of Tinubu’s Drug Conviction

Ireland’s DPC is a significant enforcer of GDPR and is pivotal in overseeing data protection for tech giants like TikTok, Google, Meta, and X, which have their European headquarters in Dublin.

TikTok, a subsidiary of ByteDance, has over 150 million users in the United States and 134 million in the European Union. In response to the fine, TikTok stated that it “respectfully disagrees” with the decision and is evaluating its next steps. The company emphasized that the DPC’s criticisms mainly pertained to features and settings that were in place three years ago and had been changed prior to the investigation.

The fine reflects the increasing scrutiny tech companies face over data privacy concerns, especially when it comes to safeguarding children’s data.