The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) fined TikTok for 5 million euros, accusing the Chinese platform of invasion of privacy.
TikTok and the invasion of privacy
In an official statement, the CNIL explains that the reasons for the ruling specifically concern the acceptance or refusal of cookies, as:
“TikTok.com users cannot refuse cookies as easily as they accept them and are not informed precisely enough about the purposes of different cookies“.
The first inspections by the CNIL would date back to two years ago, May 2020, then ended in June 2022. The checks would have concerned only the TikTok website, leaving out the mobile application. Basically, on the basis of the findings made, the French authority considered that the companies TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited (TikTok UK) e TikTok Technology Limited (TikTok Ireland) have failed to comply with their obligations under Article 82 of the Data Protection Act.
Therefore, the CNIL fined the company as much as 5 million euros, considering the violations, the number of people affected and the dozens of previous communications aimed at urging the company to remedy the possibility of simply refusing cookies.
The troubles for TikTok are not over
In addition to the CNIL, theEuropean Union has taken over the world’s most popular app, intimated the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, to comply with European laws. In addition, two new privacy investigations led by the Irish Data Protection Authority are underway.
Italy is also keeping an eye on the famous social network, with the Copasir which on 8 January opened a fact-finding investigation to understand whether or not there could be dangers regarding possible infiltrations by the Chinese government.
After the United States and their ban, TikTok has officially entered the sights of the European authorities.