Listen to the article audio text automatically generated by a system

0:00

1 minute to read

The British media and communications regulator announced on Thursday opening an investigation into TikTok to verify whether it had breached its obligations regarding 'protecting children from exposure to harmful content.'

The regulator said on its website: 'This investigation will seek to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that TikTok has breached, or is breaching, its legal obligations (...) including using a highly effective age verification system to accurately determine whether a user is a child or not.'

TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, faces increasing penalties and restrictions around the world, according to Agence France-Presse.

Two years ago, the British regulator fined TikTok about £2 million for failing to provide timely information regarding a safety feature related to parental controls.

The previous year, the British data protection authority imposed a larger fine of £12.7 million on the platform for its 'unlawful' use of children's personal data.

The regulator said Thursday that 'opening an investigation does not mean the regulator has concluded that the company has breached its obligations,' warning of the possibility of imposing fines of up to 10% of the company's global revenue.

TikTok said in a statement to AFP: 'We are fully committed to providing experiences tailored specifically to each age group,' adding 'we are confident that we comply with the duties' imposed by British law 'and will cooperate with the regulator to demonstrate that.'

Advertisement

Advertisement

Read also

"Meta" stops AI image generation tool on "Instagram" days after launch; the tool faced widespread criticism over privacy concerns including criticism... Social Media

"Meta" angers Indian government over ads harming children on Instagram; Indian Ministry of Information Technology sent a strongly worded notice to the company to remove the content... Social Media

Australia's ban on social media for teenagers fails in its initial stages; online platforms in Australia face difficulties in the first step of implementing verification... Social Media