South Korea penalizes TikTok over collecting user data of children without consent

Amid growing concerns about user privacy, Korea Communications Commission has imposed a fine of 186 million won or around 7.6 million pesos on the video-sharing app Tiktok. 

The KCC, the country's media watchdog, said TikTok collected data of children under 14 years old without the consent of legal guardians.

Photo credit: btimesonline.com

A minimum of 6,007 pieces of child data was collected from 31 May 2017 to 6 December 2019, the watchdog said. The Chinese firm also failed to inform users that personal data was transferred overseas, the watchdog added.

On the other hand, Tiktok said it is deeply committed to fulfill the obligations as per the law. “We are adhering to the highest standards of data privacy and are constantly working to make our standards even stronger,” said a Tiktok spokesperson.

The credibility crisis flare up after South Korea imposed penalty just days after India banned TikTok. India is the world’s largest user of the app. The United States has also signaled a ban on Chinese social media, including Tiktok.

Last February, Tiktok’s former company Musically was fined 5.7 million in the United States. Musically was fined by the US Federal Bureau of Commerce for failing to protect the privacy of children’s data.

For the time being, Tiktok has announced that it will leave Hong Kong as soon as the Chinese security law will get implemented.

The fine in South Korea is the latest blow to the Chinese company, which has faced allegations of collecting user data without consent.