Brazil fines TikTok parent nearly $30 million over child data privacy violations
Brazil’s data protection authority has fined TikTok parent company ByteDance nearly $30 million for allegedly mishandling the personal data of children and teenagers, Qazinform News Agency learned from Al Jazeera.
The regulator said TikTok processed young users’ data without a valid legal basis or adequate safeguards, potentially affecting at least 8 million children.
It also criticized the platform’s “logged-out feed,” which allows users to browse without an account and bypass age-verification checks.
ByteDance has 10 days to appeal and has been ordered to delete unlawfully collected data and introduce stronger protections for minors.
The decision comes as Brazil steps up scrutiny of social media platforms. Earlier this month, authorities ordered Discord to suspend livestreaming over alleged failures to protect children.
Earlier, the US Department of Justice said that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance had agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US awsuit alleging that the platform violated federal protections for children’s privacy.
