TikTok fined €530 million in Europe
The Chinese social network was hit with a hefty fine by the Irish Data Protection Commission on Friday, May 2, for failing to adequately protect its European users' data. A decision that "jeopardizes relations between the EU and China," according to the pan-European media outlet Politico.
“This decision marks a turning point in Europe’s relations with Beijing,” Politico reports . On Friday, May 2, the Chinese platform TikTok was fined €530 million by the Irish Data Protection Authority for failing to adequately respect the confidentiality of its European users’ data, some of which was accessible in China. This is the second fine imposed on the application by the Irish institution, which acts on behalf of the European Union because the European headquarters of ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is located in Ireland.
For a long time, “Chinese surveillance and data privacy violations have remained out of the EU’s crosshairs, but the growing popularity and presence in the EU of major Chinese players has highlighted Beijing’s techno-authoritarian tendencies,” reports the Brussels-based pan-European media outlet. The Irish investigators’ decision also confirms that the Chinese app’s data handling policy contravenes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in force in the 27-nation Union.
“TikTok now has six months to find a way to make
Courrier International
%3Aquality(70)%2Fcloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com%2Fliberation%2FNOQLEF3D6VAK3BIBHNTVKBMC5I.png&w=3840&q=100)