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TikTok Facing Potential Massive Fine From U.K. Watchdog Over Failure To Protect Children’s Privacy

   DailyWire.com
In this photo illustration, the Chinese video-sharing social networking service company TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.
Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

TikTok is facing a potential 27 million-pound fine ($28.8 million U.S.) from a U.K. data watchdog group over a failure to protect children’s privacy.

The nation’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) alleged on Monday that the video-sharing platform breached data protection law between May 2018 and July 2020.

“We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections,” IOC Information Commissioner John Edwards stated.

“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,” he added.

The investigation found that the China-based app TikTok may have processed the data of children under the age of 13 without appropriate parental consent. The allegations also claim that the platform failed to provide proper information to its users in a concise and transparent manner.

The report further alleged that TikTok reportedly processed special category data without the legal authorization to do so.

The statement shared that the ICO has issued TikTok Inc. and its U.K. division a notice of intent, a legal document that precedes a potential fine.

Edwards also said that the investigation extends far beyond TikTok, with more than 50 online services under investigation.

“I’ve been clear that our work to better protect children online involves working with organisations but will also involve enforcement action where necessary,” the IOC leader said.

“In addition to this, we are currently looking into how over 50 different online services are conforming with the Children’s code and have six ongoing investigations looking into companies providing digital services who haven’t, in our initial view, taken their responsibilities around child safety seriously enough,” he added.

ByteDance is the Beijing-backed parent company of TikTok, a massive platform with 80 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone. The majority of users in the U.S. are under the age of 29.

TikTok has been the target of much controversy over its harvesting of user data, including browsing history, geolocation data, keystroke information, financial data, social contacts, draft messages, and more. The information can be aggregated using artificial intelligence tools to develop user profiles to potentially expose individuals to blackmail and coercion.

A June report by BuzzFeed also revealed that American user data has repeatedly been accessed from China. The platform could serve as a strong national security risk, especially when used by U.S. lawmakers or their family members or associates.

TikTok has been the target of U.S. investigations since 2019. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States launched the first scrutiny into the company, with then-President Donald Trump threatening to ban the app in 2020.

Trump signed an executive order in August 2020 to address the threat posed by TikTok, stating that “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China) continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

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