Brazil imposes multimillion-dollar fine on TikTok for data processing violations
According to the country's National Data Protection Agency, TikTok has committed to implementing a plan to improve the protection of children and adolescents.
A girl holds an iPhone 16 with the TikTok app logo / Jan Woitas
Brazil's National Data Protection Agency imposed a fine of nearly $30 million on TikTok on Tuesday for alleged irregularities in the processing of children's and teens' data, AFP reported.
In addition to the fine of 153.7 million reais (roughly $30 million), the agency ordered ByteDance Brasil, the Brazilian subsidiary of the Chinese-founded platform, to "delete the data obtained improperly."
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"Data protection deficiencies"
The ANPD claims to have identified the processing of data from underage users "without legal basis," in violation of the rules set forth by the Data Protection Law for "this most vulnerable demographic."
It found that these "data protection deficiencies" have even been observed in the use of offline access to TikTok content via a platform profile.
"The measures adopted by the company have not been sufficient to prevent, from the outset, the improper processing of personal data belonging to children and adolescents," the agency explained in a statement.
According to the agency, TikTok committed to implementing a plan to improve the protection of children and adolescents.
In particular, the platform must "automatically apply more restrictive privacy settings to accounts belonging to users under the age of 16, ... strengthen parental supervision systems, and establish stricter content filters."
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It also told AFP that an appeal filed by Discord on Monday against this suspension was under review.
In recent years, Brazil has taken a firm stance on social media.
A recent law requires platforms to link the accounts of minors under 16 to those of their parents and to verify users' ages.
In 2024, X was blocked for 40 days by order of the Supreme Court, until billionaire Elon Musk's network complied with court orders to remove accounts accused of spreading misinformation.
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