A 12-year-old girl is considering suing TikTok. The girl, who has the support of the Children’s Commission of England, believes that the platform violates UK and European Union data protection laws, particularly with respect to how child data is used.
According to the BBC, the girl got the right to remain anonymous, which, according to a judge, can help prevent bullying and reprisals from other users of the platform. The Children’s Commission of England is led by Anne Longfield, who wants TikTok apply more protective measures regarding the data of users under 16 years old.
According to the Commissioner, the app collects and processes child data to capture viewers ’attention, strengthen its video recommendation algorithm and generate advertising revenue. The Children’s Commission of England is waiting for the conclusion of a lawsuit against Google to decide whether to sue TikTok.
Longfield submitted a request to the London Supreme Court, asking the company to delete data for its users under the age of 16. TikTok said its data policies are “robust” and protect children. In addition, it does not allow users under the age of 13 to register on the platform.
In a press release, TikTok said that “privacy and security are TikTok’s top priorities and we have robust policies, processes and technologies in place to protect all users, especially younger users”.
According to the social network, the terms and conditions of the application are clear regarding the prohibition of users under the age of 13: users are asked about their age at the time of registration. In addition, TikTok ensures that it constantly reviews the content on its platform for users under the age of 13 and removes them.
In 2019, TikTok was fined $ 5.7 million by U.S. authorities for misusing children’s data. In 2020, the application was fined by South Korea for similar reasons.
Sources: BBC; Business Insider.
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