The British data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), fined the Chinese social network TikTok 12.7 million pounds (14.4 million euros) for a series of data breaches.
Among the offenses is the illegal use of personal data of minors, added the ICO, which is the UK’s independent data protection regulator.
The entity estimates that the social network for sharing short videos allowed up to 1.4 million children under 13 in the United Kingdom to use its platform in 2020, despite the fact that its own rules do not allow minors to create own accounts.
British data protection law requires entities that use personal data when providing information services to children under 13 must have the consent of their parents or guardians, the ICO said in a statement, which TikTok did not.
In addition, the social network did not carry out adequate controls to identify minors on its platform.
The fine is made public after the British government banned the installation of TikTok on professional mobile phones in March for security reasons.
The conservative executive of Rishi Suank stressed that he made the decision taking into account that official devices can contain sensitive information, although the ban does not affect the personal mobile phones of executive members.
With this decision, the United Kingdom joins other countries, such as the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as the European Union, in vetoing TikTok, from China’s ByteDabce, from the professional devices of its employees.
The social network denies that it facilitates the Chinese government’s access to its users’ data.
Source: TSF
