This is one of the highest fines ever imposed on a technology company in Europe and follows previous sanctions against American tech giants.
TikTok received the fine for processing personal data of minors without sufficient protection or parental consent. This was uncovered after a lengthy investigation by the Irish data protection authority, which acts on behalf of the EU.
The violations included settings in which accounts of young users were by default set to 'public.'
The fine under the European privacy legislation (GDPR) does not stand alone but is related to broader EU legislation such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). These laws are designed to apply the principle of equal treatment from the free trade mechanism also to the virtual world on the internet.
With these measures, the EU wants to demonstrate that online services are also subject to market laws and consumer rights. The DMA and DSA aim to make digital markets fairer. They apply to large platforms considered 'gatekeepers' and therefore must comply with stricter rules.
Both American and Asian technology companies have recently had to adapt their business models to European regulations. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has warned of possible restrictions for European users if the EU attempts to apply European rules globally.
There is growing support in the European Parliament for a firmer independent course of the EU in the digital domain. According to some EU politicians, the EU must act faster and more forcefully against digital abuses, including those by companies outside Europe.
At the same time, there is criticism of the enforcement of the rules. Critics point out that oversight proceeds slowly, especially with other tech companies such as X (formerly Twitter), despite the extensive legislation that has been in force since 2023.