The privacy watchdog also fined TikTok £12.7 million ($15.9 million) in April 2023 for data protection law breaches, including using data belonging to children under 13 without parental consent. On Monday, the United Kingdom's privacy watchdog announced that it's investigating TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur because of privacy concerns about how they are processing children's data. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says it's now looking into how TikTok uses children's data to make recommendations that could lead to inappropriate or harmful content being added to their feeds. The ICO is currently examining potential violations of data protection laws to ensure that companies create digital services that protect children's privacy. If social media and video sharing platforms want to benefit from operating in the UK they must comply with data protection law," said John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner. A recent study published by the ICO found that over 42% of British parents feel they have little or no control over the data video-sharing platforms and social media collect about their children. "The investigations are part of our efforts to ensure companies are designing digital services that protect children. In 2020, TikTok allowed up to 1.4 million young UK children to use its platform despite its rules preventing them from creating accounts.
This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Mon, 03 Mar 2025 16:25:23 +0000