Social media platform TikTok has been fined £12.7 million for misusing children’s data.
UK regulators Watchdog issued the fine to the video app for illegally using millions of children’s data.
Despite concerns being raised that under-13s were using the service and TikTok claiming it had issued a ban, the Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) found that 1.4m under 13’s signed up alone in 2020.
John Edwards, the Information Commissioner, said: “An estimated one million under 13s were inappropriately granted access to the platform, with TikTok collecting and using their personal data.
“That means that their data may have been used to track them and profile them, potentially delivering harmful, inappropriate content at their very next scroll.
“TikTok should have known better. TikTok should have done better. Our £12.7m fine reflects the serious impact their failures may have had. They did not do enough to check who was using their platform or take sufficient action to remove the underage children that were using their platform.”
The app, owned by China’s ByteDance, requires users to seek parental consent when children under 13 sign up.
TikTok has also been signed in the US for the same offence.
A TikTok spokesperson disagreed with the decision and said they are doing everything they can to maintain it’s a safe place for the community.
They said: "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.
"We will continue to review the decision and are considering next steps."
