TikTok UK fined for misusing childrens' data

TikTok was fined GBP 12.7 million by the UK privacy regulator for multiple failures to protect children on its platform between May 2018 and July 2020. 

The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ruled that TikTok had failed to stop approximately 1.4 million under-age children using its service in 2020, contrary to its own terms of service, none of which had gained the consent of their parents or guardians - contrary to UK law. 

The ICO also charged TikTok with not providing sufficient, easy-to-understand information about how user data is collected, used, and shared, without which children were unlikely to have been able to make informed decisions about their use of the platform.

The ICO also said that the children’s data may have been used to track and profile them, and potentially present them with harmful or inappropriate content. 

The fine was one of the largest issued by the ICO. 

Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️

• Information Commissioner's Office (2023). Age Appropriate Design

• Information Commissioner's Office (2023). ICO fines TikTok £12.7 million for misusing children’s data

• Information Commissioner's Office (2022). ICO could impose multi-million pound fine on TikTok for failing to protect children’s privacy

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.reuters.com/technology/tiktok-fined-16-mln-by-uk-watchdog-misusing-childrens-data-2023-04-04/

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65175902

• https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/04/tiktok-uk-gdpr-kids-data-fine/

• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/02/tiktok-under-investigation-over-child-data-use

• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/04/tiktok-fined-uk-data-protection-law-breaches

• https://www.euractiv.com/section/data-privacy/news/uk-privacy-regulator-fines-tiktok-12-7m-for-childrens-data-violations/