The popular social network Tik Tok has been fined 345 million euro after a complaint filed in 2021 by several consumer organisations, including the OCU in Spain, for non-compliance with data protection regulations.
In February 2021, several consumer organisations, OCU among them, reported TikTok for non-compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This complaint sought to get the company to improve its practices and conditions, respect the rights of European consumers and offer users guarantees of security and compliance with their rights.
OCU asked the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) to launch a thorough investigation into TikTok’s policies.
The AEPD forwarded the complaint to the Irish supervisory authority, the Data Protection Commission (DPC), considering it the competent authority in this case, and it is this body that has ruled that the company was violating various articles of the GDPR. Consequently, the Irish authority orders TikTok to adopt several measures to adapt data processing and imposes an administrative fine on the company for a total of 345 million euro.
More than two years have passed since the complaint, but the result of this coordinated action by European consumers has been satisfactory, as OCU’s market surveillance and consumer advocacy work improves market conditions and rights of consumers, the organisation says.
At OCU we have been working for more than 45 years for a fairer, more sustainable and safer consumer society for all, with independence and transparency as thei flag.
