TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe's strict data privacy rules
The HinduEuropean regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children's privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe's strict data privacy rules. Ireland's 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. TikTok said in a statement that it disagrees with the decision, “particularly the level of the fine imposed.” The company pointed out that the regulator's criticisms focused on features and settings dating back three years. The regulator is still carrying out a second investigation into whether TikTok complied with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation when it transferred users' personal information to China, where its owner, ByteDance, is based.