Britain fines TikTok 12.7 million pounds for illegally processing children's data

TikTok has been fined 12.7 million pounds for illegally processing the data of 1.4 million children under the age of 13. According to Britain's Information Commissioner's Office, the video-sharing site used the data of children of this age without parental consent. 

The ICO said many were able to access the site despite TikTok setting 13 as the minimum age to create an account. It said that children's data may have been used to track and profile them, and potentially present them with harmful or



inappropriate content. 

Meanwhile, a TikTok spokesperson said they disagree with the ICO's decision because their 40,000-strong safety team works round-the-clock to help keep the platform safe for their community.  The penalty comes amid calls for the app to be banned in the U.S. over national security concerns, and after administrations in the US, the UK and several other countries prohibited the app from government-issued devices.