Every day, millions of children and youth around the world share countless creative videos through the social media app TikTok. Some videos reach millions of people worldwide through this app.
For many during this corona crisis, it is the way to keep in touch with friends and girlfriends and still pass the time together. Many children in the Netherlands also have TikTok on their phones. With the rise of TikTok, privacy concerns surrounding its use have also increased. To check whether privacy is in order, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP) is launching an investigation.
Children are considered an especially vulnerable group in Dutch law and in the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) because they are less aware of the consequences of their actions, especially also when their personal data is processed by social media.
The AP is investigating whether the privacy of Dutch children is adequately safeguarded in the TikTok app.
Monique Verdier, vice president of the AP: 'We see that an awful lot of Dutch children enjoy using TikTok. We are investigating whether this app is privacy-friendly in design and layout.'
In addition, we look at whether the information children receive from TikTok when installing and using the app is easy to understand and whether there is sufficient explanation of how TikTok collects, processes and further uses their personal data.
Finally, we examine whether parental consent is required when TikTok collects, stores and further uses children's personal data.
The AP expects to come out with the first results of this investigation later this year.
This news item can also be found in the files AVG and Accountability
