LONDON (AP) \u2014 European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for\u00a0failing to protect children\u2019s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe\u2019s strict data privacy rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland\u2019s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are largely in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok 345 million euros and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating to the second half of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation\u00a0found that the sign-up process for teen users resulted in settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos. Those default settings also posed a risk to children under 13 who gained access to the platform even though they\u2019re not allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, a \u201cfamily pairing\u201d feature designed for parents to manage settings wasn\u2019t strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their consent. And it nudged teen users into more \u201cprivacy intrusive\u201d options when signing up and posting videos, the watchdog said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TikTok said in a statement that it disagrees with the decision, \u201cparticularly the level of the fine imposed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company pointed out that the regulator\u2019s criticisms focused on features and settings dating back three years. TikTok said it had made changes well before the investigation\u00a0began in September 2021, including making all accounts for teens under 16 private by default and disabling direct messaging for 13- to 15-year-olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost of the decision\u2019s criticisms are no longer relevant as a result of measures we introduced at the start of 2021 \u2014 several months before the investigation began,\u201d TikTok\u2019s head of privacy for Europe, Elaine Fox, wrote in a blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Irish regulator has been criticized for not moving fast enough in its investigations into Big Tech companies since EU privacy laws took effect in 2018. For TikTok, German and Italian regulators disagreed with parts of a draft decision issued a year ago, delaying it further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To avoid new bottlenecks, the Brussels headquarters of the 27-nation bloc has been given the job of enforcing new regulations to foster\u00a0digital competition\u00a0and\u00a0clean up social media content\u00a0\u2014 rules aimed at maintaining its position as a\u00a0global leader in tech regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to initial German objections, Europe\u2019s top panel of data regulators said TikTok nudged teen users with pop-up notices that failed to lay out their choices in a neutral and objective way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSocial media companies have a responsibility to avoid presenting choices to users, especially children, in an unfair manner \u2014 particularly if that presentation can nudge people into making decisions that violate their privacy interests,\u201d said Anu Talus, chair of the European Data Protection Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Irish watchdog, meanwhile, also had examined TikTok\u2019s measures to verify whether users are at least 13 but found they didn\u2019t break any rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The regulator is still carrying out a second investigation into whether TikTok complied with the EU\u2019s General Data Protection Regulation when it transferred users\u2019 personal information to China, where its owner, ByteDance, is based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TikTok has faced accusations it poses a security risk over\u00a0fears that users\u2019 sensitive information could end up in China. It has embarked on a project to localize European user data to address those concerns:\u00a0opening a data center in Dublin\u00a0this month, which will be the first of three on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data privacy regulators in Britain, which left the EU in January 2020, fined TikTok 12.7 million pounds ($15.7 million) in April for\u00a0misusing children\u2019s data\u00a0and violating other protections for young users\u2019 personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instagram,\u00a0WhatsApp\u00a0and their owner\u00a0Meta\u00a0are among other tech giants that have been hit with big fines by the Irish regulator over the past year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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