The UK’s data protection authority announced on Tuesday that TikTok had been penalised 12.7 million pounds ($15.9 million) for violating the country’s data protection laws, including using the personal information of children under 13 without their parents’ agreement.
Although TikTok states 13 as the minimum age to establish an account, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) projected that the app allowed up to 1.4 million UK children under 13 to use its platform in 2020.
According to the ICO, the data breaches happened between May 2018 and July 2020, and the Chinese-owned video app did not take appropriate precautions to screen users and block any minors who were present.
“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,” UK Information Commissioner John Edwards said.
Children’s data may have been used to track and profile them, potentially presenting them with harmful or inappropriate content, he added.
A TikTok spokesperson said the company disagreed with the ICO’s decision but was pleased the fine had been reduced from the possible 27 million pounds set out by the ICO last year.
“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.”
The ICO’s fine follows moves by Western governments and institutions in recent weeks, including Britain, to bar usage of TikTok on official devices over security concerns.
