TikTok could face £27m fine for failing to protect children's privacy
The video-sharing platform could have handled under-13s' personal information without getting proper parental consent, ICO says
Chinese-owned video app TikTok may be subject to a £27 million ($29 million) fine in the UK for failing to protect children's data.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said on Monday that it had issued a 'notice of intent' to TikTok and TikTok Information Technologies UK, notifying them of ICO's provisional view that the social media platform breached UK data protection law between May 2018 and July 2020. The notice of intent is a legal document that precedes a potential financial penalty.
The regulator said it reached the provision conclusion following a probe that began in 2019.
According to the ICO probe, TikTok could have:
- handled under-13-year-olds' personal information without getting proper parental consent
- failed to provide accurate information to its users in a clear, transparent, and understandable way
- processed special category data without a valid legal basis
The ICO said that the findings in the notice are preliminary and that no inferences should be made as to whether there has actually been a violation of data protection laws or if a monetary fine will eventually be issued.
"We will carefully consider any representations from TikTok before taking a final decision," the regulator added.
The maximum penalty the ICO may impose would be based on an estimate of 4% of TikTok's global annual turnover.
A spokesman for TikTok told CNBC the firm disagrees with the ICO's preliminary findings and that the company intends to submit a formal response.
"While we respect the ICO's role in safeguarding privacy in the UK, we disagree with the preliminary views expressed and intend to formally respond to the ICO in due course," the TikTok spokesperson said.
Information Commissioner, John Edwards, said that the ICO's initial assessment is that TikTok did not comply with the legal obligation placed on companies offering digital services to implement proper data privacy protections.
"We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections," he noted.
Edwards added that the ICO was actively investigating the Children's Code compliance of more than 50 different online services.
The hugely popular TikTok app, which is owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance, has drawn criticism in multiple countries for having ties to the Chinese government.
In the US, former president Donald Trump even attempted to ban TikTok by executive order.
Software engineer Felix Krause claimed last month that TikTok's iOS in-app browser injects JavaScript code into external webpages, allowing the app to track "all keyboard inputs and touches" when a user is interacting with a certain website.
The UK Parliament also suspended its TikTok account last month after a number of MPs and peers expressed concerns about the platform's ties to the Chinese Communist Party and how it handled user data.
In June, an American communications regulator official urged Apple and Google to ban the app over "national security" concerns.