Brazil’s data protection regulator has fined TikTok parent company ByteDance more than 153 million reais, equivalent to nearly $30 million, for alleged failures in handling the personal data of children and teenagers.
The ruling by the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) found that TikTok breached data privacy laws by collecting and processing the personal information of young users without a valid legal basis or adequate safeguards. This applied to both logged-in accounts and guest browsing sessions.
ByteDance has the option to appeal the decision within 10 days. The ANPD also ordered TikTok to eliminate all illegally gathered data and to provide a plan for improving its protection of minors.
This action is part of a broader trend in Brazil, where the government under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the country's Supreme Court have sought to regulate minors' internet use. Earlier in August, the ANPD recommended the suspension of live broadcasts on the platform Discord following its link to a suicide case.
Brazil's first lady, Rosângela Lula da Silva, also known as Janja, has been a vocal critic of TikTok's child protection measures and called for the platform to be taken offline on Aug. 6, citing the aforementioned case.