TikTok has become immensely popular over recent years, with many young people in particular becoming hooked on the social media app. However, many of these young users are actually too young to be using the app in the first place, and TikTok has not done enough to stop this.
TikTok Fined £12.7 Million
TikTok’s own Terms and Conditions bans users under the age of 13 from using the app. However, last week they were fined £12.7 million for illegally processing the data of 1.4 million children under the age of 13 without parental consent to do so.
Despite the Terms and Conditions stating that you must be 13 or over to use the app without parental consent, it appears that TikTok has not taken enough steps to ensure that this is complied with.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
The ICO estimates that TikTok allowed up to 1.4 million UK children under 13 to use its platform in 2020, acting as a breach of the UK General Data Protection Regulation. TikTok was only requiring applicants to click a box certifying they were over 13 years of age, with no verification or additional checks involved.
As a result, the ICO has issued a fine of £12.7 million o TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited and TikTok Inc. John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner, said:
“TikTok should have known better, TikTok should have done better. Our £12.7m fine reflects the serious impact their failures may have had. They did not do enough to check who was using their platform or take sufficient action to remove the underage children that were using their platform.”
A TikTok spokesperson has said they disagree with the ICO’s decision but are pleased the fine has been reduced to half of what was proposed last year. They 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.”