TikTok hit with $368-million fine under Europe’s strict data privacy rules
LONDON — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368-million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are largely in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok 345 million euros and reprimanding the platform for violations dating to the second half of 2020.
The investigation found that the sign-up process for teen users resulted in settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos. Those default settings also posed a risk to children under 13 who gained access to the platform even though they’re not allowed.
Also, a “family pairing” feature designed for parents to manage settings wasn’t strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their consent. And it nudged teen users into more “privacy intrusive” options when signing up and posting videos, the watchdog said.
TikTok said in a statement that it disagreed with the decision, “particularly the level of the fine imposed.”
The company pointed out that the regulator’s criticisms focused on features and settings dating back three years. TikTok said it had made changes well before the investigation began in September 2021, including making all accounts for teens under 16 private by default and disabling direct messaging for 13-to-15-year-olds.
California lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill aimed at combating child sexual abuse material on social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok.
“Most of the decision’s criticisms are no longer relevant as a result of measures we introduced at the start of 2021 — several months before the investigation began,” TikTok’s head of privacy for Europe, Elaine Fox, wrote in a blog post.
The Irish regulator has been criticized for not moving fast enough in its investigations into Big Tech companies since EU privacy laws took effect in 2018. For TikTok, German and Italian regulators disagreed with parts of a draft decision issued a year ago, delaying it further.
To avoid new bottlenecks, the Brussels headquarters of the 27-nation bloc has been given the job of enforcing new regulations to foster digital competition and clean up social media content — rules aimed at maintaining its position as a global leader in tech regulation.
The Irish watchdog also examined TikTok’s measures for verifying whether users are at least 13, and found that they didn’t break any rules.
The European Union’s executive branch has banned Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from phones used by employees, out of security concerns.
The regulator is still carrying out a second investigation into whether TikTok complied with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation when it transferred users’ personal information to China, where its owner, ByteDance, is based.
TikTok has faced accusations that it poses a security risk because users’ sensitive information could end up in China. It has embarked on a project to localize European user data to address those concerns: opening a data center in Dublin this month, which will be the first of three on the continent.
Instagram, WhatsApp and their owner, Meta, are among other tech giants that have been hit with big fines by the Irish regulator over the past year.
