App’s child data protection inadequate, Canada probe finds
Tiktok’s efforts to prevent children from using the application and protect their personal data were inadequate, a Canadian survey revealed.
Hundreds of thousands of children in the country use Tiktok each year despite the company that did not say for people under the age of 13, according to the results.
The survey also revealed that Tiktok had collected sensitive personal information from “a large number” of Canadian children and used it for online marketing and content targeting.
Tiktok told the BBC that he would introduce a number of measures to “strengthen our platform for Canadians”, although it disputes some of the conclusions.
The investigation was carried out by the Canada Commissioner, Philippe Dufresne, and those responsible for the protection of privacy.
During a press conference to announce the conclusions, Mr. Dufresne said that the extremely popular short-video platform collects “large” quantities of its users, including children.
“These data are used to target the content and announcements that users see, which can have harmful impacts, especially on young people,” he added.
Dufresne said that in response to the survey, Tiktok had agreed to improve measures to prevent children from using the platform and to indicate more clearly how their data could be used.
In the declaration, a Tiktok spokesperson said that he had welcomed the investigation and that Canadian officials “accepted a number of our proposals to further strengthen our platform”.
“Although we do not agree with certain conclusions, we remain determined to maintain solid practices of transparency and confidentiality,” they added.
The BBC asked the company to specify the results with which it disagreed.
The Canadian Survey is the last decision of governments around the world to examine Tiktok’s impact on users as well as national security problems concerning China application.
The company and Beijing have denied such allegations several times.
In the United States, President Donald Trump has negotiated with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about an agreement that could see Tiktok American operations take over by a group of American companies.
In 2023, the staff working at the European Commission were ordered to withdraw the Tiktok application from their phones and corporate devices.
The Commission said it was implementing the measure to “protect data and increase cybersecurity”.
