TikTok Fined Nearly $30M for Mishandling Youth Data

Brazil's data protection authority has imposed a significant fine of nearly $30 million on ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. This action stems from alleged mishandling of personal data belonging to children and teenagers.

The regulatory body determined that TikTok violated data privacy laws by collecting and processing young users' information without adequate legal justification or necessary safeguards. This breach reportedly affected at least 8 million children, highlighting systemic flaws in the platform's age-verification system.

TikTok has been ordered to delete all data collected unlawfully and to establish a comprehensive youth-protection framework. The ruling specifically noted concerns about TikTok's "logged-out feed," which allows minors to access content without account registration, bypassing age checks.

This enforcement action follows a recent order against Discord, which was directed to suspend its livestreaming feature in Brazil due to child protection concerns. The Brazilian government continues its efforts to regulate internet use among minors, with similar initiatives being undertaken globally.