TikTok is Fined USD 1,55,000 for Mishandling Children's Data in South Korea

Popular Video-sharing app TikTok was found to have breached South Korean law and has been fined 186 million Won or roughly $1,55,000 for mishandling children's data in South Korea, amid growing concerns about users' privacy. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) which acts as the regulator and overwatches the country's telecommunications and data related sectors began its investigation into this matter back in October 2019 and found that Video-sharing app TikTok collected that data of children under the age of 14 without consent from their legal guardians, reports Gizmochina.

The fine amount is equivalent to 3 % of the company's annual sales in South Korea, an amount designated for such violations under local privacy laws. TikTok currently uses four cloud companies to store its data -- Alibaba Cloud, Edgecast, Fastly, and Firebase.

according to Yonhap, as of the end of last year, TikTok had 3.4 million users in South Korea, citing data from industry tracker WiseApp. Since its entry into the country in 2017, the app has been popular among teenagers.

South Korean user data are stored on servers run by Alibaba Cloud, which are based in the US and Singapore. Also last month, India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, UC Browser, citing national security concerns, similar to the US Army back in January. Then, earlier this month, TikTok also announced that it was exiting the Hong Kong market after the enforcement of new security laws by China.

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