TikTok could face £27m fine for failing to protect children’s privacy
TikTok is facing the prospect of a £27m fine for failing to protect the privacy of children, the UK’s data watchdog has said.
An investigation conducted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found the video-sharing app may have breached data protection law between May 2018 and July 2020.
The ICO issued TikTok with a “notice of intent”, a precursor to handing down a potential fine, which could be up to £27m.
The maximum fine the ICO can impose would be based on a calculation of 4% of TikTok’s global annual turnover.
The regulator’s “provisional view” is that TikTok may have processed the data of children under the age of 13 without parental consent, and failed to provide proper information to its users in a “concise, transparent and easily understood way”.
The information commissioner, John Edwards, said: “We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections.
“Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement.”
The ICO said it had not reached a conclusion as to whether there had been a breach of data protection law, or if a financial penalty would be imposed.
“We will carefully consider any representations from TikTok before taking a final decision,” the ICO said.
Edwards, who began his five-year term as commissioner in January, said the ICO was also looking at more than 50 other online services to see if they were complying with data laws relating to children. He said the ICO had several ongoing investigations.
“I’ve been clear that our work to better protect children online involves working with organisations but will also involve enforcement
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