The UK Information Commission Presidency, as a result of its investigation, determined that TikTok did not comply with the Data Protection Act.
According to the ICO, TikTok did not comply with this law between May 2018 and July 2020, did not adequately control who uses the platform, and did not make the necessary effort to remove children under 13 years old from the platform.
TikTok, on the other hand, announced that it did not agree with the decision of the ICO.
In a statement to the BBC, the company stressed that it is making great efforts to prevent access to the app for children under the age of 13.
TikTok's Supposed Effort Has Been Expensive
According to TikTok rules, children under the age of 13 cannot open an account on the platform. According to the ICO's estimation, 1.4 million children under the age of 13 used the platform in 2020.
According to the Data Protection Act in the UK, platforms that use personal data must obtain permission from their parents when serving children under the age of 13.
TikTok Craze in the UK
British media monitoring agency Ofcom announced last year that 44 percent of children aged 8-12 in the country use TikTok.
In 2019, TikTok was fined $5.7 million by the US Federal Trade Commission for failing to properly protect children's data.