Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok has been given a month to respond to multiple complaints from EU consumer groups that it allegedly violated the bloc’s consumer laws and also allegedly fail to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content.
Owned by China’s ByteDance, TikTok has seen rapid growth worldwide, particularly among teenagers. However a number of incidents have prompted concerns about its privacy and safety policies.
The European Commission on Friday said that it had launched a formal dialogue with TikTok and national consumer groups to review the company’s commercial practices and policy.
European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said greater digitalisation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has created new risks, in particular for vulnerable consumers.
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“In the European Union, it is prohibited to target children and minors with disguised advertising such as banners in videos,” he said in a statement.
TikTok said it would discuss with the the Irish Consumer Protection Commission and the Swedish Consumer Agency measures it recently introduced. Both bodies are leading the talks.
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“We have taken a number of steps to protect our younger users, including making all under-16 accounts private-by-default, and disabling their access to direct messaging,” the company said in a statement.
“Further, users under 18 cannot buy, send or receive virtual gifts, and we have strict policies prohibiting advertising directly appealing to those under the age of digital consent.”
In February, the The European Consumer Organisation filed a complaint with the European Commission and the network of consumer protection authorities against TikTok.
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It argued that several terms in TikTok’s ‘Terms of Service’ are unfair and said the platform, which is particularly popular with youngsters, failed to protect children and teenagers from hidden advertising and potentially harmful content.
“The current pandemic has further accelerated digitalization,” said Didier Reynders, the Commissioner for Justice. “This has brought new opportunities but it has also created new risks, in particular for vulnerable consumers.
In the European Union, it is prohibited to target children and minors with disguised advertising such as banners in videos. The dialogue we are launching today should support TikTok in complying with EU rules to protect consumers.”