TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has been fined around $30 million after Brazil’s data protection authority found failures in the way the platform handled children’s and teenagers’ personal information.
It estimated that around eight million children in Brazil may potentially have had their data processed improperly.
Why has TikTok been fined?
Brazil’s data protection authority investigated how TikTok handled children’s and teenagers’ information when they used the platform.
It identified problems with both registered accounts and TikTok’s “logged-out feed”, which allows people to browse content without creating an account. The regulator said TikTok had not done enough to prevent children’s and teenagers’ personal information being processed without a valid legal basis. It also raised concerns about whether the platform’s measures for identifying younger users were effective enough.
ByteDance has the right to appeal the fine.
What will TikTok have to change?
The regulator has ordered ByteDance to delete personal information that was collected improperly and introduce stronger protections for children and teenagers.
These include automatically applying the most restrictive privacy settings to accounts belonging to under-16s, strengthening parental controls and introducing tougher content filters.
TikTok will also have to make changes to its logged-out service in Brazil.
People using TikTok without an account will face restrictions on what they can do, including being unable to post content, send direct messages or livestream. Advertising will also be removed from the logged-out version and the amount of personal information collected will be reduced.
TikTok must also comply with new requirements in Brazil around reliable age checks.
TikTok is facing growing scrutiny over children's privacy
The Brazilian action comes just days after TikTok and ByteDance agreed to pay $400 million to settle a separate child privacy case in the United States. The US Department of Justice had accused the companies of unlawfully collecting personal information from children under 13 without obtaining the required parental consent.
The Brazilian and US cases both raise questions over how social media platforms reliably identify younger users and make sure their personal information is properly protected.
That issue is becoming increasingly important as governments and regulators around the world introduce tougher rules around children’s use of social media.
Why this matters in the UK
Age assurance is becoming a major part of the debate around children’s online safety in the UK too.
The UK government plans to ban under-16s from major social media platforms, with the changes expected to come into force from spring 2027. That will require platforms to have effective ways of determining whether users are under or over 16.
The challenge for regulators and technology companies is finding age checks that actually work while protecting people’s privacy.
Could TikTok users in the UK be entitled to compensation?
The action in Brazil does not mean TikTok users in the UK are automatically entitled to compensation. However, social media companies are facing growing legal action around the world over children’s privacy, safety and the way their platforms are designed.
At least one UK law firm is investigating whether people who were harmed by social media as children could have grounds to seek compensation in the UK.
At Join the Claim, we’re tracking developments around social media safety, children’s privacy, platform design and potential legal action in the UK. Visit our Social Media Safety & Online Harms information hub for the latest developments.
If you or your child experienced problems linked to excessive social media use, you can also find out more about the potential Social Media Addiction Claim and register to stay informed.
Join the Claim connects consumers with SRA-regulated lawyers. Visit the claim page to check your eligibility if a claim is open with one of our trusted legal partners. If a group action has not yet been launched, you can register your interest and we’ll keep you informed if a partner firm decides to take a claim forward.
