The Brazilian Data Protection Authority imposed a fine of 153.8 million Brazilian reals, or about 29.8 million dollars, on ByteDance, which owns the TikTok platform, due to violations related to the processing of teenagers’ data.
The Brazilian authority said that investigations showed data processing Personal information for users between the ages of 13 and 18 without a valid legal basis, citing concerns related to mechanisms for verifying the age of users.
The authority estimated that the data of at least 8 million children may have been processed during the period covered by the investigation.
The authorities indicated that The content browsing feature without logging in, available in Brazil, has raised additional concerns because it may allow minors to use the platform without actively undergoing age verification procedures.
For its part, ByteDance said that the fine relates to behavior dating back to 2021, and that it was taken since Then additional measures will be taken to strengthen data protection and compliance with Brazilian laws.
