The UK Information Commissioner's Office is investigating how the platforms TikTok, Reddit and Imgur use children's personal data to recommend content, the regulator's press service said.
„Today we are announcing 3 investigations into how TikTok, Reddit and Imgur protect the privacy of their underage users in the UK. „As part of our investigation into TikTok, we will investigate how the platform uses the personal information of UK users aged 13-17 to recommend and deliver content to their channel“, the statement said.
The investigation was prompted by „growing concerns“ regarding the use of teenagers' personal data, which "could lead to young people being exposed to inappropriate and harmful content". The regulator's experts are also examining which Imgur and Reddit are taking steps to verify the age of users.
For its part, a TikTok representative told Politico that the platform's recommendation systems are "designed and operated under strict and comprehensive measures that protect the privacy and safety of teenagers".
From 2023, TikTok will be banned from use in the British Parliament building. For security reasons, the application is also blocked on all parliamentary devices.
The social network TikTok, which allows you to upload short videos, was launched in 2017, its international version - in August 2018. The network is owned by the Chinese technology company ByteDance. The platform has over 1 billion active users and its app has been downloaded over 3 billion times.