ByteDance ordered to erase illegally obtained child data in Brazil as regulatory crackdown on tech giants intensifies.
Brazil’s data protection authority has imposed a $30 million fine on TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, for alleged mishandling of children and teenagers’ personal data, marking the latest regulatory action against social media giants in the country.
The regulator ruled that TikTok violated data privacy laws through both logged-in and guest browsing sessions, collecting and processing young users’ personal information without a valid legal basis or adequate safeguards.
The regulator estimates TikTok may have processed the data of at least 8 million children, citing systemic deficiencies in the platform’s age-verification mechanism.
ByteDance retains the right to appeal the decision within the next 10 days, the regulator confirmed.
The ruling additionally orders TikTok to erase all data collected illegally.
Brazilian regulators have mandated that TikTok develop an enhanced youth-protection framework, noting that the platform’s “logged-out feed” — allowing content browsing without an account — enables widespread minor access while circumventing age-verification checks.
The regulator notes the “logged-out feed” feature is available in Brazil but restricted to registered users in the United States and Europe.
Earlier this month, the regulator ordered Discord to suspend its livestreaming feature nationwide, citing failures to protect children and teenagers. The action followed the death of a 13-year-old girl by suicide after a livestream in which authorities allege she was encouraged to harm herself.
The voice and text chat application, widely popular among gamers, was launched in 2015.
Under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s government and Supreme Court have attempted to regulate minors’ internet use, though results have been mixed amid similar regulatory efforts in countries including Australia, Canada, and Indonesia.
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