TikTok could face £27m fine over children’s privacy allegations
TikTok is facing a possible £27m fine over claims it may have broken UK data protection law and failed to protect children’s privacy.
The Information Commissioner (ICO) handed the social media platform a ‘notice of intent’ over alleged breaches between May 2018 and 2020.
The investigation discovered TikTok may have processed children’s data without the necessary parental consent, and failed to provide “concise, transparent and easily understood” information.
Commissioner John Edwards says: “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.”
TikTok may have illegally gathered “special category” data, including ethnic and racial origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and genetic, biometric or health data.
Edward Machin, a senior lawyer in Ropes and Gray’s data, privacy and cybersecurity practice, says the ICO has significantly lowered proposed fines in the past, so it will be “particularly interesting to see if the ICO sticks to its guns or whether it’s willing to take a write-down on its headline figure.”
The ICO’s findings are provisional, and they will “carefully consider” any representations from TikTok before reaching a final conclusion.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by City PM