TikTok hit with nearly $367M penalty for children’s data privacy violations

TikTok has been imposed an almost $367 million fine by Ireland's Data Protection Commission over the management of children's data privacy that was adherent to Europe's General Data Protection Regulation laws, reports The Verge. Aside from discovering that TikTok made children's accounts public by default, allowing access to comments, Stitch, and duets functionality, the DPC also noted that the video sharing app's "Family Pairing" functionality was not able to ensure that children's accounts were only connected with the accounts of their parents or guardians. TikTok's age verification process also failed to ensure that youths younger than 13 were not able to access the app, according to the IDC probe. The IDC has given TikTok three months to comply with GDPR rules. TikTok's penalty comes a year after Meta was given an over $400 million fine for failing to restrict teen users from creating business profiles and making contact details public on Instagram.