TikTok slapped with £460m fine in EU data breach row
The Irish regulator fined £460 million for failing to comply with EU data protection regulations. The service's country of origin, China, allegedly received user data without adequate safeguards. TikTok plans to appeal the decision.
The Irish Data Protection Commission fined Tiktok £460 million for contravening EU data protection regulations. The investigation lasted four years and found that the app was transferring user data to China without providing an appropriate level of protection. TikTok, whose European headquarters are in Dublin, has six months to comply with the regulations.
TikTok fined in the EU. Huge penalty
TikTok disagrees with the decision and intends to contest it. The company emphasises that the decision concerns a period that concluded in May 2023, before the data localisation project called Project Clover was initiated. This includes constructing three data centres in Europe, which aim to ensure the highest data protection standards.
Christine Grahn, TikTok's Director of Public Policy and Government Relations in Europe, stated in the company's statement that the service did not transfer user data to China and did not receive such a request.
Chinese service to appeal the decision
This ruling risks setting a precedent with far-reaching consequences for companies and entire industries across Europe that operate on a global scale. It delivers a blow to the European Union’s competitiveness. We disagree with the decision and plan to appeal in full, states TikTok's representative for Europe.
The Irish regulator stated that TikTok failed to conduct necessary assessments regarding data transfers, even though the company uses the exact legal mechanisms as other European firms. The investigation also found that TikTok's privacy policy did not inform users about the countries to which their data was sent. TikTok acknowledged that some data was stored on Chinese servers, a situation discovered only in February.
"We are disappointed to have been singled out despite relying on the same legal mechanism employed by thousands of other companies providing services in Europe. (...) This ruling risks setting a precedent with far-reaching consequences for companies and entire industries across Europe that operate on a global scale," states the TikTok representative.
As stated in the announcement, the service has 175 million users across Europe and over 6,000 employees in the region. It estimates that the platform contributes £4.2 billion to the GDP of European countries.
