The British media and telecommunications regulator announced an investigation into TikTok on Thursday to determine whether it failed in its obligations to “protect children from exposure to harmful content”.
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“This investigation will aim to establish whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that TikTok has not complied, or is not complying, with its legal obligations (…) in particular by using a highly effective age verification device to correctly establish whether a user is or is not a child”, specifies Ofcom on its website.
Already in the sights of the British authorities, the video sharing platform, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance, is the subject of increasing sanctions and restrictions around the world.
The same regulator fined it nearly 2 million pounds two years ago for failing to provide requested information on its parental control security feature on time.
The previous year, the platform was fined more than £12.7 million by the British data protection watchdog, the ICO, for “illegal” use of children’s personal data.
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“The opening of an investigation does not mean that Ofcom has concluded that the supplier has failed in its obligations,” said the regulator on Thursday, which however warns that it is able to impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s global turnover.
The UK toughened its children’s online safety legislation last year with the introduction of a law aimed at preventing minors from being exposed to content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography, among others.
“We rigorously ensure that we offer experiences adapted to each age group,” responded TikTok in a statement sent to AFP. “We are confident that we are meeting our obligations” under UK law “and we will work with Ofcom to demonstrate this.”
