Four Canadian watchdog groups have accused TikTok of gathering the sensitive data of many Canadian children.
On Tuesday, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Philippe Dufresne, and provincial counterparts in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta detailed their findings in a joint investigation into TikTok. In their report, they conclude that TikTok has had “inadequate” measures to keep children off its platform and prevent the collection and use of their sensitive personal information.
“Even though the company has stated that its platform is not intended for people under the age of 13, the investigation found that hundreds of thousands of Canadian children access TikTok’s platform each year – and that TikTok has been collecting and using their personal information,” the groups state in their report.
Specifically, the report explains that this data is being used to push targeted content and ads onto kids, which can have “harmful impacts” like fostering negative body images or early sexualization, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes and the normalization of gambling. As youth, they could also be led to disclose certain private information, adopt certain purchasing behaviours, and more, the report argues.
Further, the groups found that TikTok “did not adequately explain its data practices to teen and adult users, nor did it obtain meaningful consent for the collection and use of vast amounts of user data, including sensitive data of younger users, as required under Canadian privacy laws.”
In response to these findings, the groups say TikTok “has agreed to strengthen privacy communications to ensure that users, and in particular younger users, understand how their data could be used, including for targeted advertising and content personalization.” The company has also promised to enhance age-assurance methods to keep underage users off the platform, stopping advertisers from targeting users under the age of 18 (beyond broad categories like language and approximate location) and providing more privacy information in French.
“All organizations subject to Canadian privacy laws must respect children’s privacy rights and design services and products with strong protections for the personal information of children,” the groups stated.
Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner Via: The Toronto Star
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