Social media company TikTok has received a financial penalty from the UK’s data watchdog for running foul of rules relating to the handling of data for the 1.4 million children under 13 who were found to be using the Chinese-owned platform without parental consent, with the Information Commissioner stating that the platform had done “very little, if anything” to validate users or to prevent underage users from using the app.
Information Commissioner John Edwards said:
‘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, Consequently, an estimated one million children under 13 were inappropriately granted access to the platform.’
A Tiktok spokesman said:
‘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,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We will continue to review the decision and are considering next steps.’
Leading data privacy lawyer Kingsley Hayes, Head of Data and Privacy Litigation at Keller Postman UK said:
“TikTok abjectly failed to protect British children and their data. TikTok knew that kids aged under 13 were accessing its app, but it simply didn’t take adequate steps to prevent this. This meant young kids could access content which may not have been appropriate for them. The ICO is right to have fined the company for failing to protect young children.
“Over a million young British kids were failed by TikTok in two ways. Firstly, the data collected may have been used to show them harmful, age-inappropriate content. Secondly, data about their preferences, browsing habits and personal profiles was collected and processed without parental consent.
“Nor should we forget that the British government recently banned TikTok app from government phones, citing cybersecurity concerns. Worryingly for parents, despite the ICO’s intervention, it may prove to be very difficult to have their children’s personal data removed from the app.”
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