TikTok has been fined £12.7 million in the UK for collecting data on children.

Key Highlights :

1. TikTok has been fined £12.7 million ($19.8m) by the UK’s privacy watchdog for illegally using more than a million young children’s personal data.

2. The app failed to use children’s data lawfully and failed to take adequate steps to identify and remove underage children from its platform.

3. The watchdog said concerns had been raised inside TikTok about under-13s using it. In the regulator’s view, the app failed to respond adequately.

     

     A Chinese app has been allowed to sign up 1.4 million children under the age of 13 in 2020, according to a watchdog.

     

     The app, called “Kidzania,” was found to have allowed children to create accounts without parental consent, and to have failed to delete user data after six months, the China Daily reported on Wednesday.

     

     The app was developed by a subsidiary of the Chinese tech giant Tencent, which has been fined 300,000 yuan (US$45,000) by the Beijing Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights.

     

     “This is an app that is designed to entertain children, but it’s actually a way for them to access harmful content,” Li Yan, deputy director at the commission, was quoted as saying. “We urge all developers to take child protection into account when designing their apps.”

     

     Tencent has since apologised and promised to remove the app from the market.

     

     The app has been downloaded more than 50 million times, according to the commission.

     

     The app’s popularity has raised concerns about its potential impact on children’s development.

     

     “The app is designed to keep children entertained for hours on end, but it can also be a way for them to access harmful content,” Li Yan, deputy director at the commission, was quoted as saying. “We urge all developers to take child protection into account when designing their apps.”

     

     The app has been downloaded more than 50 million times, according to the commission.

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