£12.7m ($15.9) fine for TikTok misusing children’s data

TikTok was fined 12.7m ($15.9) by the UK’s data watchdog for failing to protect the privacy of children.

According to an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), TikTok allowed approximately 1.4 million UK children under the age of 13 to use the platform in 2020 without parental consent. Despite setting 13 as the minimum age to create an account, the ICO found that many children were able to access the site. The watchdog also stated that children’s data may have been used to track and profile them, exposing them to harmful or inappropriate content.

Consequently, TikTok has been fined £12.7m, one of the largest fines issued by the ICO. TikTok stated that it had “invested heavily” to prevent under-13s from accessing the site, and while it disagreed with the ICO’s decision, it was pleased that the fine had been reduced to under half the amount proposed last year. Prof Sonia Livingstone, a researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science, praised the ICO for taking action but was concerned that the fine could be seen as the cost of doing business.

TikTok has the option to appeal against the fine and has 28 days to make representations. If successful, the final amount could be reduced. The regulator has a maximum of 16 weeks to deliver its final verdict after issuing the notice of the proposed fine. Fines received by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) go back to the Treasury. The spokesperson expressed disagreement with the ICO’s decision regarding the privacy violation from May 2018 to July 2020, but was pleased that the announced fine was reduced to less than half of the amount proposed the previous year. Initially, the ICO had proposed a fine of £25 million for the violation, but decided to reduce the penalty after reviewing the unlawful use of special category data by TikTok. An ICO spokesperson explained that while the use of special category data by social media companies is important, the Commissioner exercised discretion not to pursue the provisional finding related to the unlawful use of special category data to be strategic about the regulator’s resources.

The fine was imposed amidst calls for a ban on TikTok in the US over national security concerns, with several countries including the US and UK prohibiting the app from government-issued devices. TikTok’s CEO, Shou Xi, recently addressed concerns about privacy and security from US lawmakers, including potential Chinese government influence over TikTok. Xi denied claims that the app shared user data with Beijing and asserted that he had never held any discussions with Chinese government officials since taking over as the firm’s CEO. He also emphasized that TikTok had never shared or received a request to share US user data with the Chinese government and would not honor such a request if it ever occurred.However, TikTok may face further concerns with the UK Online Safety Bill, which requires strict age verification processes by social networks, and companies that breach the requirements could be fined.

While the £12.7m fine may seem small compared to TikTok’s parent company ByteDance’s reported $80bn revenue in 2022, the platform is under global scrutiny over security concerns, with many Western countries taking measures against it. The app has been banned on government devices in several countries, and TikTok’s safety has been questioned in Congress. As a result, the BBC has advised its staff to delete TikTok from corporate phones.