TikTok Parent Company Fined 41 Billion Won for Unauthorized Collection of Children's Data

Brazil has imposed a fine of 41 billion won on TikTok's parent company. This measure targets ByteDance for collecting personal information of children and adolescents without legal basis. This sanction marks the first financial penalty imposed by the Brazilian National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) on a major social media platform.

The ANPD announced in the Official Gazette on the 25th (local time) that "violations were committed during the processing of data from children and adolescents." Investigations revealed that TikTok collected data from users under 16 without legal basis on both member-only feeds and non-member feeds used without an account. It was also confirmed that the platform failed to take substantive measures to prevent unauthorized sign-ups by minors.

Consequently, the authorities issued a corrective order. In addition to the immediate deletion of the illegally collected personal information, TikTok was ordered to automatically apply the strictest privacy settings to accounts of users under 16 and ensure that these settings cannot be changed without parental consent.

The authorities also took action regarding the non-member feed. They ordered the platform to enforce a limit of 12 hours of daily usage and to implement measures prohibiting interactions such as comments, messages, and follows, as well as live streaming.

ByteDance stated that it will comply with the government's requirements to implement a plan for child protection. However, the company retains the right to appeal within 10 business days of the notification of the penalty.