British telecommunications authority Ofcom has announced a fine of £1.9 million ($2.4 million) against the video-sharing platform TikTok for its delayed disclosure of safety data.
Ofcom criticized TikTok, which is operated by the Chinese company ByteDance, stating that it had provided inaccurate information last year and did not promptly rectify the situation.
In a statement, Ofcom stated, “TikTok has been fined £1.875 million for failing to provide accurate information in response to a formal request regarding its parental controls safety feature.”
TikTok acknowledged that it had initially provided Ofcom with incorrect statistics concerning the use of a parental controls tool, significantly underestimating the tool’s utilization.
While TikTok later rectified the mistake by providing accurate information, the platform admitted to failing in its reporting obligations and expressed regret for any inconvenience caused.
A TikTok spokesperson mentioned, “We are dedicated to collaborating fully with all requests from Ofcom and have made enhancements to our internal processes.” The spokesperson also acknowledged that Ofcom acknowledged the unintentional nature of the oversight.
Ofcom described this incident as the first breach on TikTok’s part, resulting in a fine 25% lower than the maximum penalty. The regulator also considered TikTok’s proactive initiative in self-reporting the error and implementing measures to enhance internal processes.
Nevertheless, Ofcom stated that due to the breach, details about the effectiveness of TikTok’s parental controls will be excluded from an upcoming transparency report.
Ofcom mentioned that it only received partial and slightly delayed correct information seven months after the initial deadline last year.
The regulator believed that the imposed penalty was suitable for a company of TikTok’s magnitude, considering its resources and understanding of regulatory responsibilities.
This action follows TikTok’s recent unsuccessful attempt to challenge new EU digital regulations aimed at regulating the influence of major tech companies, as the court dismissed its appeal.
AFP