TikTok slapped with fine in South Korea over mishandled user data
- The Korea Communications Commission said TikTok collected personal information of users under the age of 14 without parental consent
- TikTok also did not notify users about the transfer of their data to servers in Singapore and the US
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) on Wednesday imposed a 186 million won (US$155,000) fine on TikTok for collecting personal information of users under the age of 14 without parental consent and not notifying users about transferring their data to servers overseas, the regulator said on its website.
TikTok illegally collected 6,000 pieces of user data and transferred its users’ information in Korea to servers in Singapore and the US, according to a report by the Yonhap News Agency, which cited the KCC.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Still, TikTok’s regulatory troubles have not slowed down the app’s adoption outside China. ByteDance operates a Chinese-language version, Douyin, for the domestic market.
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TikTok was the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide for June, with more than 87 million installations, up 52.7 per cent from the same period last year, across Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to a report last week by app analytics company Sensor Tower. It said the countries with the most TikTok installs last month were India at 18.8 per cent of the app’s total downloads and the US at 8.7 per cent. App Store data included Douyin installs in China.
As of Wednesday, TikTok was South Korea’s most downloaded Android video-sharing app, ahead of YouTube and other local products, according to data from app analytics firm App Annie.