TikTok is facing a £12.7 million fine from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for misusing children’s data.

The initial fine from Britian’s data regulator was £27 million, but the final amount has been reduced to £12.7 million.

The ICO said more than one million children under 13 were using TikTok in 2020, despite its terms of use not allowing that.

It added that personal data belonging to those children was used without parental consent and that the company did not do enough to check who was using the social media app and take enough action to remove the underage children that were.

‘There are laws in place to make sure our children are as safe in the digital world as they are in the physical world. TikTok did not abide by those laws,’ said Information Commissioner John Edwards.

Consequently, an estimated one million children under 13 were inappropriately granted access to the platform, he added.

The social media company had been called out for collecting and using these children’s personal data.

‘That means that their data may have been used to track them and profile them, potentially delivering harmful, inappropriate content at their very next scroll,’ said Edwards.

‘TikTok should have known better. TikTok should have done better. Our £12.7m fine reflects the serious impact their failures may have had.’

A TikTok spokesperson said the company disagreed with the ICO’s decision but was pleased the fine had been reduced from the possible 27 million pounds set out by the ICO last year.

‘We invest heavily to help keep under 13s off the platform and our 40,000 strong safety team works around the clock to help keep the platform safe for our community,’ the spokesperson said.

‘We will continue to review the decision and are considering next steps.’

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