Why TikTok Risks Being Fined £27 Million by UK
According to the United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Tiktok could face a fine after it was discovered that data of under-13s was being shared without appropriate consent.
Leah Mukangai 
The ICO stated that the breach occurred over more than two years - until July 2020 - but that no final conclusions had been reached.
In response to this, TikTok disagreed with the findings, calling them "provisional."
The ICO has issued a "notice of intent" to TikTok Inc and TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited, a legal document that precedes a potential fine. The notice outlines the ICO's preliminary conclusion that TikTok violated UK data protection law between May 2018 and July 2020.
According to Ofcom, 44% of eight to 12-year-olds in the UK use TikTok, despite the platform's policies prohibiting under-13s from using it.
According to the Information Commissioner John Edwards TikTok violated the protections.
"Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place, but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement."
Information Commissioner John Edwards. PHOTO FILE
TikTok may also have processed special category data, which includes ethnic and racial origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, trade union membership, and genetic, biometric, or health data, without legal grounds, according to the ICO.
A TikTok spokesperson stated that the notice given had no final conclusions and they still disagreed with the violations stated.
"This notice of intent, covering the period May 2018-July 2020, is provisional, and as the ICO itself has stated, no final conclusions can be drawn at this time," a TikTok spokesperson said.
If TikTok is fined this amount, it will be the largest in the ICO's history, surpassing the £20 million fine handed down to British Airways two years ago following an incident in 2018 in which hackers stole the personal information of over 400,000 customers.
