In yet another blow, TikTok was just fined 186 million won (about $155,000) by South Korean media regulator for mishandling children data! This decision was made after finding over 6,000 records of underaged users without their guardian consent, and even transferred overseas! This fine is just another hit TikTok has taken, after being blown by major countries over security reasons.
TikTok Fined For Collecting Children Data
TikTok has been in the news for a while. The Chinese app has grown immensely popular for its short-video recording feature, which can add audio or music behind and shared. Itโs so popular that, popular companies like Instagram and YouTube have started trying a similar short-video recording features in their platforms, to lure more users into this latest vibe.
Though it has set a good trend, itโs still accused of security reasons. Countries like the US and India have alleged that TikTok is following loose security measures and could be used for spying on users since itโs overseen by the Chinese government. This led the Indian government to ban TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps earlier this month, and the US is thinking of banning it too!
And now, in a recent development, TikTok is fined about 186 million won by South Korea Communications Commission, the South Korean media watchdog. Itโs booked for allegedly collecting data of children under 14 years, without their guardianโs consent. This was decided after finding over 6,000 records containing children data, collected over six months.
The investigation also revealed that TikTok has failed to inform the authorities on transferring the data overseas, which amounts to the violation of local privacy laws. A TikTok spokesperson on this incident said,
โWe hold ourselves to very high standards on data privacy, and work to continuously improve and strengthen our standards.โ
Via: BBC