The European Union has fined TikTok €345 million for its failure to adequately protect children’s data. The penalty was imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) and cited eight privacy and information processing violations. One of the main issues highlighted was TikTok’s default profile settings for children, which were set to ‘public,’ exposing their content to anyone. The ‘Family Pairing’ feature, intended for parents to connect with their child’s content, was also accessible to all users, posing significant risks. TikTok has initiated an appeal and made changes to address the privacy concerns, including making the videos of users aged 12-15 private by default and enabling customization of viewership for users below 16. The company has also revamped its user account registration process and restricted parents from sending direct messages to private accounts.
Key points:
1. The European Union fined TikTok €345 million for failing to protect children’s data.
2. TikTok’s default profile settings for children were set to ‘public,’ exposing their content to anyone.
3. The ‘Family Pairing’ feature, meant for parents, was accessible to all users, posing risks.
4. TikTok has made changes to address the privacy concerns, including making videos of users aged 12-15 private by default.
5. The company has revamped its user account registration process and restricted parents from sending direct messages to private accounts.
