The UK government has imposed a fine of $16 million on TikTok accusing it of mishandling children’s data on the platform. Britain’s privacy watchdog has been investigating the video sharing platform for years and has said that TikTok allowed minors to use the platform, violating its own rules.
TikTok Allowed 1.4 Million Minors
The Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office said they examined data violations from of TikTok from May 2018 to July 2020, and stated that TikTok allowed around 1.4 million kids under the age of 13 in the United Kingdom to use the platform in 2020, despite its policy that restricts underage children from creating accounts.
TikTok Didn’t Remove Those Accounts
The Commissioner’s Office further said that despite knowing that minors were using the platform, the app didn’t take action and instead left the accounts to function without removing them. “There are laws in place to make sure our children,” Information Commissioner John Edwards said.
