The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the United Kingdom has initiated an investigation into three online platforms—TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur—to evaluate their efforts in safeguarding the personal data of children aged 13 to 17 in the country.
The ICO is specifically focusing on how TikTok, the video-sharing platform owned by ByteDance, utilizes personal data from children within this age group to generate recommendations and suggest content for their feeds.
The watchdog explained that its investigation stems from rising concerns about how social media and video-sharing platforms are using data from children’s online activities within their recommendation systems. This could result in minors being exposed to inappropriate or harmful content.
Additionally, the ICO is also scrutinizing Imgur and Reddit to understand how these platforms handle children’s personal data, as well as the steps they are taking to determine the age of their users and customize content based on this information.
The regulator emphasized that it is examining whether these services have violated data protection laws. It plans to share any findings with the companies involved and request their input before making a final decision.
John Edwards, the U.K. Information Commissioner, stated, “The responsibility to ensure children’s safety online lies squarely with the companies providing these services, and my office remains firm in its dedication to holding them accountable.”
He continued, “By launching these investigations, we are signaling to the public the proactive steps we are taking to safeguard children’s rights regarding their personal data. This remains a top priority, and we will continue to update the public on any further actions we may take.”
This investigation follows the implementation of the Children’s Code in September 2021, which sets clear standards for how online services must handle children’s data.
Since the introduction of the code, X (formerly known as Twitter) has ceased showing advertisements to users under the age of 18 and has removed the option for users below this age to share their geolocation. Viber has also pledged to stop delivering personalized ads to children.
