TikTok, a popular app owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, just got hit with a huge fine of 530 million euros (around $600 million) because it isn’t protecting user data properly in Europe. The main privacy boss in Europe, called the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), said that TikTok wasn’t able to guarantee that personal information of users in Europe is safe, especially since some of this data can be accessed by staff in China.
The DPC was concerned that Chinese authorities might access this data under their own laws, which are different from the privacy protections in Europe. TikTok disagreed and said it plans to appeal the decision. The app claimed that it has always followed European laws and implemented new security measures in 2023 to keep user data safe and stored in places like Europe and the United States.
Despite TikTok stating that no EU user data was stored in China, they admitted last month that some data had actually been kept there but was deleted. The DPC is now looking into what else they might need to do regarding TikTok’s privacy practices.
This isn’t the first time TikTok got into trouble. Last year, it was fined 345 million euros for mishandling kids’ data in Europe. The DPC also regulates other big tech companies like Microsoft and Meta. Under European law, they can fine companies up to 4% of their total earnings if they mess up with user data.
Leave a Reply