The Chinese Property Social Network Platform, Tiktok, has been beaten with an EU fine of 530 million euros ($ 600 million) on Friday for sending personal data from Europeans to China and not guaranteeing that it was protected from access by Chinese authorities.
Tiktok, which is also in the sights of the United States, acknowledged during an investigation that has housed European data in China, unlike a previous denial, according to the Go Ireland data protection control body.
One of the largest fines ever imposed by the authority followed an investigation into the legality of Tiktok data transfers.
In 2023, the Ireland Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Tiktok, which has 1.5 billion users worldwide, 345 million euros for violations of European rules on children's data processing.
DPC's attached commissioner, Graham Doyle, revealed in a statement, “Tiktok could not verify, guarantee and demonstrate that the personal data of the users (Europeans), accessed remotely by the personnel in China, received a level of protection essentially equivalent to those guaranteed within the EU.
“Tiktok did not address the potential access by Chinese authorities to personal (European) data under Chinese anti -terrorism, counter -espionage and other laws identified by Tiktok as if they diverge materially from EU standards.
Tiktok said he planned to appeal the EU fine, insisting that “I had never received a request” from Chinese authorities for European user data.
“(Tiktok) has never provided data on European users. We do not agree with this decision and we intend to appeal them in their entirety,” said Christine Grahn of Tiktok Europe.
Remember, the giant of social networks has been in the sights of Western governments for years for the fear that China can use personal data for espionage or propaganda.
Tiktok also violated the requirements within the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU (GDPR) transferring user data to China, said the DPC statement.
Friday's decision “includes administrative fines for a total of 530 million euros and an order that requires Tiktok to comply with its processing within six months,” he said.
The authority said that 45 million euros were imposed from the fine due to the lack of transparency between 2020 and 2022, when the platform did not tell users to which countries the data were transferred or could be accessed from China.
The DPC said that its decision also includes an order that suspends Tiktok transfers to China if the company does not meet the deadline of six months.
The fine is expected to increase the pressure against the social network in the United States.
The United States Congress approved a law in 2024 that demands that byedance disintegrate Tiktok control in the United States or expelled from the country.
President Donald Trump has postponed twice, until June 19, the deadline established for the sale of the social network, which has 170 million US users.
In addition to the problem of the data, Tiktok is also accused of limiting its users to the Silos through an opaque and powerful recommendation algorithm, promoting the spread of erroneous information and the illegal, violent or obscene content.
Several countries have banned the platform for variable periods, such as Pakistan, Nepal and France in the territory of Nueva Caledonia.
(AFP)