FAQ
Tikok is said to pay more than half a billion euros due to violations of European data protection. It is not the first punishment. What this time is – and what China has to do with it.
The TIIKTOK internet platform must pay a penalty of 530 million euros due to violations of European data protection. The responsible Irish data protection commission DPC imposes payment due to the transfer of data to China.
Tikkok violated the General Data Protection Regulation because the company forwarded European user data to China and also violated transparency requirements, the statement said.
The platform is now being imposed on paying the millions and adjusting its data processing within six months so that it corresponds to the rules. Tiktok can still appeal against the punishment.
What do the data protection officers TikKOK accuse?
During the investigation, Tiktok announced that the Irish supervisory authority said no user data from Europe on servers in China. In April, however, the platform admitted that this had happened to a limited extent and incorrect information was given.
The General Data Protection Regulation concerns that the high level of data protection within the EU also applies if personal data is passed on to other countries, said DPC Vice-President Graham Doyle.
However, Tiktok could not guarantee that data from European users to which employees in China would have had access were protected as in the EU. Tikok, for example, did not take into account the possible access of Chinese authorities.
What does Tiktok have to do with China?
With its short videos, Tikok is one of the world's most popular social media platforms. The app is part of the Chinese group bytedance, headquartered in Beijing. In China, where there is no freedom of expression or data protection, people use a censored version of the service. The app is called Douyin there.
Tiktok always emphasizes that the majority of bytedance belongs to international investors. However, the parent company must also bow to the Chinese authorities in Beijing. In addition, because the algorithm – the heart of the app that selects the videos for the users and thus holds them long in front of the screen – was developed in China, Beijings' permission is required.
This is a problem, especially for the ordered sale of TikTok in the USA, which is why the app recently made headlines.
Why is there trouble in the USA?
A US law stipulates that bytedance sells the app in the United States or otherwise have to leave the network. Politicians and experts in the United States fear that data from Americans could fall into the hands of the Chinese government via the platform or that public opinion could be manipulated. Tikok has so far rejected such allegations.
US President Donald Trump had extended the deadline several times for the sale – which should have been done on January 19.
Why does the punishment come from Ireland?
The DPC is the leading supervisory authority for tech giants who have its European branch in Ireland. Therefore, millions of penalties have been issued there. In 2021, Amazon was taken with a penalty of 746 million euros, and in 2023 the meta group had to pay 1.2 billion euros.
Tikkok was also occupied in 2023 with a penalty of 345 million euros: At that time it was about dealing with data from users under the age of 18.
The Irish data protection commission now announced for the new punishment that the case was taken very seriously. According to TikKok, the data has now been deleted. However, further regulatory measures are considered in consultation with EU data protection authorities.
Source: dpa
