On Monday, Britain issued a warning that it would impose a fine of £27 million ($29 million) on TikTok for allegedly failing to safeguard children's privacy on the Chinese-owned video app.
The social networking company "may have processed the data of children under the age of 13 without proper parental authorization," according to the Information Commissioner's Office.
The short-form video platform may have "failed to disclose adequate information to its users in a brief, transparent, and easily understood manner," according to the ICO.
Concerning the potential violation of UK data protection law, the watchdog has sent the organisation with a notice of intent, a legal document that comes before a potential fine.
“We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections,” said Information Commissioner John Edwards.
“Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place, but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement.”
In response, TikTok said it disagreed with the ICO’s provisional views and stressed that no final conclusions had been reached.
“While we respect the ICO’s role in safeguarding privacy in the UK, we disagree with the preliminary views expressed and intend to formally respond to the ICO in due course,” TikTok said in a statement.