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Aug. 14, 2024

TikTok Fined £1.875m by Ofcom

The delay in reporting the issue led to disruption to the publication of Ofcom’s child safety transparency report.

US - Ofcom, the UK’s communications and online safety regulator, imposed a fine of £1.875 million on TikTok for providing inaccurate data regarding its parental controls feature. This penalty was levied after TikTok failed to accurately respond to a formal request for information about its “Family Pairing” feature, which is designed to help parents manage their children’s use of the platform.

The issue began when Ofcom requested data from TikTok on September 4, 2023, as part of a broader effort to assess the effectiveness of safety measures implemented by video-sharing platforms to protect children from harmful content. TikTok initially complied, but on December 1, 2023, the company disclosed that the data provided was inaccurate and initiated an internal investigation to determine the cause of the error.

Ofcom’s investigation revealed several shortcomings in TikTok’s data governance processes. The company not only submitted inaccurate data but also delayed informing Ofcom about the inaccuracies for over three weeks. This delay significantly disrupted the publication of Ofcom’s child safety transparency report, which aimed to provide parents with crucial information to make informed decisions about the platforms their children use.

The regulator emphasized the importance of accurate and timely responses to statutory information requests, highlighting that such data is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of safety features and ensuring transparency. TikTok’s failure to meet these requirements led to the substantial fine and a commitment from the company to improve its data governance practices.

This incident underscores the critical role of accurate data in regulatory processes and the potential consequences for companies that fail to comply with information requests. It also highlights the ongoing challenges in ensuring online safety for children and the need for robust oversight of digital platforms.

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