TikTok and Reddit under investigation over use of children’s data
TikTok, Reddit and Imgur are to be investigated by the UK’s data protection watchdog over how they use the personal information of teenage users.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it wants to look into how video-sharing app TikTok uses information from users aged 13 to 17 to provide them with content recommendations.
It is reported that the investigations will focus on the use of age assurance measures, such as how they assess and verify children’s ages and how they use their personal information,
The regulator is taking action amid growing concerns about how social media platforms use data generated by children’s online activity in their recommendation algorithms – and the potential for young people to be served harmful or inappropriate content as a result.
Otherwise, the ICO said its investigations will examine whether there has been any data protection breach and if evidence of potential breaches is found, it will place the information on the platforms before reaching a conclusion.
