TikTok tracked and collected Canadian children's personal data, probe finds

A Canadian investigation found TikTok collected sensitive data from children and failed to block underage users; the company has agreed to improve safety and privacy measures

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TikTok has agreed to improve its safety measures to prevent children from using its app and website, after Canadian authorities said its current protections were insufficient, news agency Reuters reported. 

A review, conducted jointly with privacy authorities in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, found that hundreds of thousands of Canadian children access TikTok each year, despite the company stating that it is not intended for anyone under the age of 13. Investigators also found that TikTok collected sensitive personal information from “a large number” of Canadian children, which was used for marketing and targeting content. 

At a press conference, Canada’s privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said, “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.” 

In response, TikTok has agreed to enhance its age-verification methods to keep underage users off the platform and improve communications so that users, especially children, understand how their data could be used, the news report said. 

Other changes include preventing advertisers from targeting users under 18 except in broad categories like language and approximate location. TikTok will also expand privacy information available to Canadian users, according to the privacy commissioners. 

 

  Global scrutiny of TikTok continues

Canada’s investigation is part of a wider global focus on TikTok due to concerns that China could access user data or influence content. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. In the US, President Donald Trump is working on a deal requiring TikTok’s American assets to be transferred to US owners. 

The European Union has banned TikTok from staff phones, and the US Senate passed a law in December last year barring federal employees from using the app on government devices. 

Ottawa also started reviewing TikTok’s plans to expand in Canada in 2023, leading to a government order requiring the firm to end its Canadian operations due to national security concerns. TikTok is challenging this order.   

 

  TikTok’s US operations to see major ownership change

A deal transferring TikTok’s US operations from ByteDance to American investors will be announced later this week, a White House official said on Monday. Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake are expected to be among the investors, Reuters reported. 

ByteDance will retain less than 20 per cent ownership, while TikTok US will be controlled by existing US and global firms and new investors unaffiliated with ByteDance, Reuters reported. “All data on American users will be stored on US cloud infrastructure run by Oracle,” the official added.

 

Tiktik’s high-profile US investors

Trump said on Sunday that media mogul Lachlan Murdoch, and business leaders Larry Ellison and Michael Dell, will participate as US investors in the deal, aimed at keeping TikTok operational in the US. 

The US government does not plan to take a board seat or golden share in the new entity. The deal’s valuation is expected to be “many billions of dollars”. 

The move comes after Congress passed a law ordering TikTok to be shut down by January 2025 if ByteDance did not sell its US assets. Trump has delayed enforcement until mid-December to allow for divestment and investor arrangements. The executive order will also include a new 120-day pause to finalise the agreement.

 

[With agency inputs]