Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

TikTok faces privacy investigations by EU watchdog

TikTok faces privacy investigations by EU watchdog

TikTok is under investigation by The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) - its lead regulator in the EU - over two privacy-related issues.

The watchdog is looking into its processing of children's personal data, and whether TikTok is in line with EU laws about transferring personal data to other countries, such as China.

TikTok said privacy was "our highest priority".

The Irish DPC said it was specifically looking into GDPR-related issues.

These are the EU privacy laws which can potentially lead to enormous fines of up to 4% of a company's global turnover.

It said the first inquiry would examine "the processing of personal data... for users under age 18, and age verification measures for persons under 13". It will also look into how transparent TikTok has been about how it processes such data.

It is not the first time the Irish DPC has investigated such matters. In October 2020, it announced it was looking into Instagram's handling of children's personal data.

And Tiktok has already faced a similar collective legal action in the UK, spearheaded by a former children's commissioner.

The second investigation announced this week is a more uniquely TikTok problem.

It is around "transfers by TikTok of personal data to China", the DPC said. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, and has repeatedly faced accusations that it shares data with Chinese companies - or even the Chinese government, something the firm strenuously denies.

During Donald Trump's presidency, it was nearly banned in the US - although that order has since been dropped.

The DPC's investigation is more tightly concerned with whether TikTok is obeying EU rules on transfers of data to so-called "third countries" - places to which the EU has not given a seal of approval over their privacy laws.

TikTok has already made a series of changes to its systems to fend off both allegations.

In January, it made all under-16s' accounts private by default, as part of a bid to improve child safety on the platform.

It followed that up in July by deleting millions of accounts which it said belonged to under-13s, who are not supposed to be allowed on the platform at all.

And in August, it announced it would no longer send push notifications to children's accounts during certain times of the day, saying it was designed to help children study, relax, and sleep.

In a statement, TikTok said: "We've implemented extensive policies and controls to safeguard user data and rely on approved methods for data being transferred from Europe, such as standard contractual clauses. We intend to fully co-operate with the DPC."

The Irish data commissioner takes a lead role in regulating many of the world's largest tech firms, as the European headquarters of companies such as TikTok, Facebook, and Google are all based in Ireland.

However, it has been accused by some of having a lax approach to enforcement.

For example, it recently handed WhatsApp the second-largest GDPR fine on record, of €225m (£193m).

It initially recommended a much smaller fine of €30m-50m, but faced objections from the data watchdogs of several other EU states. The disagreement eventually went before a formal EU board, which told the Irish DPC to change its finding and issue a higher fine.

Max Schrems, a well-known privacy advocate and established critic of the Irish regulator, said at the time that incident "shows how the DPC is still extremely dysfunctional".


WATCH: What is GDPR?


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×