Investigators noted that TikTok’s default setting of underage users’ accounts to “public” during registration, which allows everyone to watch and comment on videos posted by underage users, would result in children under 13 years of age being exposed to risky content. In addition, TikTok did not verify that a user was a parent or guardian of a child user when linked through the “Family Matchmaking” link.
A TikTok spokesperson said it disagreed with the decision, particularly the amount of the fine, and that most of the charges no longer applied because TikTok had already taken steps before the DPC investigation (September 2021) began.TikTok added stricter parental controls to Family Matchmaking in November 2020, and changed the default setting to “Family Matchmaking” to “Family Matchmaking” for all registered users under 16 in January 2021.TikTok also said that it was not satisfied with the decision. TikTok added stricter parental controls to family pairings in November 2020 and changed the default setting for all registered users under the age of 16 to “private” in January 2021.
TikTok said Friday that it plans to further update its privacy materials to make the distinction between public and private accounts clearer, and that in the future, new users aged 16-17 will be able to choose private by default when signing up for the app.
