Popular Chinese short video service TikTok has been fined the equivalent of R330 million by Irish data protection officials. The reason was an investigation into the handling of user data of minors from the end of July to the end of December 2020, the Irish data protection authority announced on Friday.
This specifically concerned some of the platform’s settings and age verification upon registration. The default setting was that posts such as videos from users between the ages of 13 and 17 could be published for everyone to see by default. The comment function in the profiles was also accessible to all other users by default.
TikTok justifies itself
In a response, TikTok emphasizes that the results of the research mainly relate to institutions that were valid three years ago. “And most of these results are no longer relevant due to actions we took before the investigation began.” This means that all accounts of users under the age of 16 are set to private by default.
In addition to the fine, TikTok was asked to bring its data processing into compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within three months. The record fine under the GDPR of 1.2 billion euros was imposed on the Facebook group Meta in May.
Data centers in Ireland and Norway
TikTok is currently in the process of moving data from European users to a new data center in Ireland. Another data center in Ireland and one in Norway are under construction. By the end of 2024, European user data should be transferred and stored there by default.
TikTok wants to gain trust in Europe with the plan called ‘Project Clover’. The video app has a difficult political position in the West because it is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance. The European Commission and several European governments have banned the use of the app on their employees’ mobile phones.
With ‘Project Clover’, TikTok wants to guarantee that access to the personal data of European users is strictly regulated and transparent.
(dsc/sda/awp/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
