TikTok Again Under Fire from Regulators Over ‘Leaking’ Children’s Data

The Chinese social network TikTok has once again come under scrutiny regarding privacy, which is evidently not up to standard on this predominantly teenage platform. This time, TikTok could face a fine of £27 million for failing to protect the privacy of children while using the platform.

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) revealed that the platform processed data of users under 13 years old without appropriate consent. As they discovered, ‘leakage’ of data occurred for more than two years, up until July 2020. This is not the first time TikTok has found itself on the wrong side of the law. In 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission imposed a record fine of $5.7 million on the company for also ‘mismanaging’ children’s data, and a similar situation occurred in South Korea for the same reasons.

TikTok, of course, disputes such findings, as it has done in the past. However, this has not prevented the ICO from issuing a document to TikTok Inc and TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited that precedes the fine. In its notice, the ICO emphasizes that it holds a preliminary view that TikTok violated UK data protection laws for children between May 2018 and July 2020.

The ICO’s investigation showed that this social platform processed data of children under 13 years old without appropriate parental consent, that it did not provide all relevant information to its users in a concise, transparent, and easily understandable manner, and that it processed data without a legal basis for such actions.

According to Ofcom, 44 percent of children aged 8 to 12 in the UK use TikTok, despite its policies prohibiting access to the platform for those under 13 years old.

– Companies providing digital services have a legal obligation to implement such protections, but our preliminary view is that TikTok has not met that requirement – said Information Commissioner John Edwards.

TikTok has introduced numerous features to enhance privacy and security on the site, such as allowing parents to link their accounts with their children’s accounts and disabling direct messaging for users under 16 years old.

Commissioner Edwards also stated that the ICO is currently investigating more than 50 different online services and that there are currently six investigations ongoing into companies providing ‘digital services that, in our preliminary view, have not taken their responsibility regarding children’s safety on the internet.’

Additionally, in September of last year, the UK introduced a Children’s Code on data protection for online services accessible to children, which is based on existing data protection laws, with the possibility of financial penalties for serious violations.