The investigation comes on the heels of back-to-back crackdowns on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in regulating tech behemoths, including Meta and Apple BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission on Friday said it found TikTok had not adequately protected children’s privacy rights on its platform by allowing adults to view the accounts of minors.The action exposed children to cyberbullying, unwanted contact and predatory behavior, commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said.“Children’s content must never be visible to strangers,” he said. If TikTok does not take steps called for by the European Union's landmark Digital Services Act, “minors are exposed to predators, to grooming and to cyberbullying,” Regnier said, adding that children aged 13 to 15 can “easily” change their accounts from private to public and the private accounts of minors aged 16 to 17 can be seen by anyone on the internet.
“We do not accept this,” Regnier said. “Putting default settings for minors is not a beauty contest under the DSA. It must be effective.”The investigation comes on the heels of back-to-back crackdowns on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in regulating tech behemoths including Meta and Apple.TikTok can now defend itself and reply to the findings.
If unsatisfied with the Chinese firm’s response, the European Commission could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.The Chinese social media firm, whose parent company ByteDance is based in Beijing, said in a statement it would review Brussels' findings and “continue to engage constructively with the Commission.”“Protecting minors online is a goal we share, and we are committed to building on our strong track record of continuous improvement,” TikTok said in a statement.If unsatisfied with the firm’s response, the commission could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.The commission estimates most of TikTok's 170 million users in the EU are children, with 7% of children aged 12 to 15 spending four to five hours daily on the app.The 27-nation European Union found in February that TikTok had breached another aspect of its digital rule book with an “addictive design” of features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling that could harm the physical and mental health of users and minors especially. The EU said it found TikTok had not adequately protected children’s privacy rights on its platform by allowing adults to view the accounts of minors. If the EU's views on TikTok are confirmed, the EU can slap a fine of up to 6% of the company's total worldwide annual turnover.
(EPA Images pic)BRUSSELS: The EU on Friday accused TikTok of failing to protect children since their account settings expose them to risks like cyberbullying and predatory behaviour – putting the company at risk of a large fine.The EU said minors' accounts should only be visible to those they have given permission. Children aged 13 and over can use TikTok."A high level of protection should not be an opt-in; it should be the default," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.TikTok insisted it was committed to protecting minors online.The EU has intensified its efforts to protect minors with new rules expected later this year that will ban children under the age of 13 using social media.Brussels began its probe into Chinese-owned TikTok in 2024 under the Digital Services Act (DSA) – a content law and major weapon in the EU's boosted legal armoury that it has deployed to rein in Big Tech in recent years.Under the DSA, children's account settings have, by default, the strongest safety and security protections."TikTok's account settings fail to meet this standard, as they expose minors' accounts and content too widely," the EU said in its preliminary view.The EU found during the investigation that minors can make their account public, meaning anyone with or without a TikTok account can see their content.Even when children choose to make their accounts private, they can be "easily found" through other users' "following" and "followers" lists."TikTok's settings continue to expose them to risks – including unwanted contact, cyberbullying, or predatory behaviour," the EU warned.Brussels told TikTok to adjust the default settings for minors' "public" accounts, making them only visible to users whom the child has accepted.A TikTok spokesperson said teen accounts have more than 50 preset privacy and safety features and stressed under-18 accounts were private by default."We will review these preliminary findings as we continue to engage constructively" with the EU, the spokesperson added.EU's age-check appIf the EU's views on TikTok are confirmed, the EU can slap a fine of up to 6% of the company's total worldwide annual turnover.The EU already took an unprecedented step in February against TikTok when it told the platform to change i…
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