Announced on Wednesday, the British telecommunications regulator Ofcom has fined the video-sharing platform TikTok £1.9 million ($2.4 million) for failing to promptly provide safety data as required.
Ofcom’s criticism of TikTok, which is under the ownership of the Chinese company ByteDance, stemmed from the platform’s dissemination of inaccurate information and its failure to promptly rectify the issue.
According to a statement by the regulator, “Ofcom has today fined TikTok £1.875 million for its failure to provide accurate information in response to a formal request regarding its parental controls safety feature.”
TikTok, in a statement to AFP, acknowledged that it had initially provided Ofcom with incorrect data concerning the usage of a parental control tool, significantly underestimating the number of users utilizing the feature.
Regarding the incident, TikTok expressed regret for not reporting the error promptly, stating, “While we subsequently provided the correct information, we fell short of our obligations by not reporting the error sooner and apologize for any disruption this caused.”
A spokesperson for TikTok highlighted their commitment to cooperating fully with Ofcom’s requests and outlined the implementation of internal process improvements. They also emphasized that Ofcom had acknowledged that the oversight was unintentional.
Ofcom noted that this was the first violation by TikTok, resulting in a fine 25 percent below the maximum penalty. The regulator gave weight to the fact that TikTok self-reported the error and has taken steps to enhance internal processes.
As a consequence of the breach, Ofcom stated that details on the efficacy of TikTok’s parental controls would be omitted from an upcoming transparency report.
Ofcom mentioned that it only received partial, albeit accurate, data seven months after the deadline last year, indicating the company’s tardiness in compliance.
Considering TikTok’s size, resources, and awareness of regulatory responsibilities, Ofcom deemed the penalty appropriate.
This development follows TikTok’s recent unsuccessful appeal against new EU digital regulations aimed at regulating the influence of major tech companies, as a court dismissed the challenge.
AFP