Ottawa, September 25: TikTok has agreed to strengthen safeguards to keep children off its platform after a Canadian investigation found the company’s existing measures to block underage users and protect personal data were inadequate, privacy officials said on Tuesday.
The probe, led by federal privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne along with watchdogs in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, found that hundreds of thousands of children in Canada accessed TikTok each year despite the app being restricted to people over 13. It also determined the company collected and used their personal information.
“TikTok collects vast amounts of personal information about its users, including children. This data is being used to target the content and ads that users see, which can have harmful impacts, particularly on youth,” Dufresne told reporters.
As part of a settlement, TikTok has agreed to enhance its age-assurance systems to better keep underage users off the platform and improve communications so younger users understand how their data may be used, the officials said.
The Chinese-owned short-video platform, which has faced heightened scrutiny worldwide over concerns Beijing could exploit user data, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
