Ireland slapped Tiktok with a serious fine, perhaps even more concerned about social media companies, an allegation of suspicious data practices. This is a major problem with Tiktok and its parent company Bytedance, which has been trying to convince the West, most notably the United States, that its users are protected from the data shared with China.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Tiktok 530 million euros (about $600 million) because it could not guarantee the storage of user data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The DPC also said Tiktok acknowledged that it stored limited European user data in China, which previously denied. Tiktok told DPC that the data has since been deleted.
“GDPR requires that high levels of protection provided within the EU continue in the case of transferring personal data to other countries,” said Graham Doyle, deputy director of the DPC, in a statement.
Mixable light speed
“Tiktok’s personal data transferred to China violated GDPR because Tiktok failed to verify, assurance and proof [European Economic Area] Users who are remotely accessed by Chinese employees provide a level of protection that is essentially equivalent to ensuring the internal EU level. ”
Trump delays Tiktok ban for another 75 days
Irish privacy watchdog fines could cause damage to Tiktok, especially after President Donald Trump issued another 75-day extension, avoiding a fight in the U.S. in early April.
The U.S. law banning Tiktok is partly intended to be very similar to the questions raised by the Irish DPC. The United States does not want data from its citizens to be handed over to the Chinese government. Tiktok insists that it will not share our user data with China.
Still, U.S. companies are still lined up to buy Tiktok, which may be necessary for the platform to stay in states.
