As you might know, in February of this year, TikTok paid an
astounding $5.7 million in fines after
CARU referred a case against the app to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). TikTok (aka Musical.ly) is
a platform that allows users to create and post short videos lip-syncing to music,
in addition to social networking aspects.
Now, concerns have arisen about how children’s data is collected in the United Kingdom.
Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, told a parliamentary committee, “We’re
looking at the messaging system, which is completely open, we’re looking at the
kind of videos that are collected and shared by children online. We do have an
active investigation into TikTok right now, so watch this space.”
Under the EU’s general data protection regulation (GDPR), a
company can be fined up to 20 million euros, or 4% of revenue, whichever is
higher for violations.
In response, TikTok released a statement saying, “We
cooperate with organizations such as the ICO to provide relevant information
about our product to support their work. Ensuring data protection principles
are upheld as a top priority for TikTok.”