Tiktok I must do more to keep children from a popular video exchange application and get consent to the collection and use of their data, a joint investigation conducted by Canadian guard dogs published on Tuesday.
Federal Commissioner for Privacy And his colleagues in Quebec, British Colombia and Albert said that more than a two-year investigation showed that Tiktok collects and uses personal information hundreds of thousands of children under the age of 13, who use the application every year, which declares that its platform is not intended for users who are young.
“We found that Tiktok should do more in order to prevent minor children from his platform,” said Philip Dufres, a press conference in Ottawa, Philip Dufren.
“Despite the fact that the application uses the information that it collects, including biometric information to evaluate the age of users for its own business purposes, our investigation showed that the measures that had Tiktok in order to maintain children from the popular video exchange platform and prevent the collection and use of their confidential personal information for profiling and the targeting goals inadequate. “
Diane McLeod, commissar, according to Alberta’s information and confidentiality, said that biometric data collected by Tiktok were used to subject the children to “a wide range of risks and harm”, including targeted advertisements that normalize gambling and “increasing the theft of identity, impede healthy or early sexualization or early sexualization or early sexualization or early sexualization or early sexualization or early sexualization or early sexualization or early sexualization Strengthen gender stereotypes. “
“Every minute of each day, the child in Canada leaves Tiktok because they are younger than 13 years old,” said Michael Harvey, commissar for the confidentiality of the British commission. “These are half a million accounts forbidden to children who should never have been on the platform, children whose personal information was collected and used as they could not meaningfully agree to reasonable or without a reasonable or without legal purpose.
“This contradicts the key principles that underlie our laws on confidentiality.”
Harvey later added that the investigators “were precisely amazed at how carefully profiled, which was used by Tiktok in their systems (WAS).”
Despite the fact that the investigation is focused on whether the children knew adequately how their data are used by Tiktok, Harvey said that the commissars “did not think that even adults had a reasonable expectation that this was happening.”
Dufres said that Tiktok accepts conclusions and recommendations on the investigation and agreed to improve his age methods in order to keep minor users from the platform. He also agreed to strengthen the confidentiality of communication so that users understand how their data can be used, make this information more affordable and provide it in French, as well as in English.
In a joint statement, the commissars said that Tiktok devoted himself to “terminating the use of granular information, such as interests derived from the use of the platform in order to aim at advertising for users under the age of 18.”
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“We found that the investigation is well -founded and conditionally permitted,” Dufres said. “So this means that we are satisfied with the obligations that Tiktok took to satisfy our recommendations.”
He added that the main removal, as he added, was that such platforms as Tiktok, and not users or their family, should be responsible for explaining the company's data collection policy.
He said that parents and guardians should “talk” with their children about Tiktok, and also recommended schools to teach children to understand how their data can be used by social networks.
“I think it is important to conduct these discussions about what the cost of these systems that seem free,” he said. “They are not free because you give your personal information.”
The results obtained become an agreement on the ownership of Tiktok between the United States and China, as expected, will be completed this week, after many years of growing problems with confidentiality and national security compared to the application belonging to China, which began to dominate the media.
Answering the question of these national security problems, Dufren said that Tiktok also agreed to be “more obvious” for users that their data can be processed in China and even access to the Chinese government.
“We welcome the conclusion of this investigation after open work and constructive work with the commissars for confidentiality, and they are glad that they agreed to a number of our proposals to further strengthen our platform for Canadians,” said Tiktok representative.
“Although we do not agree with some results, we are still committed to maintaining strong transparency and confidentiality.”
Canadian investigation was started at the beginning of 2023With four commissars, who stated that they intended to tell about whether Tiktok’s practice corresponds to the legislation on Canada's confidentiality, and whether he receives a “significant consent to collect, use and disclose personal information”.
Calling young users of the “important share” of the Tiktok user base, the commissars said that the investigation would be “special attention” on how the company received and used the data of young people.
The Laboratory of Social Networks of the Capital University Toronto reported in May in May This third of adult Canadians has a Tiktoka account, but 65 percent of adults aged 18 to 24 years and 59 percent of those who, aged 25 to 34 years, uses the application. In the USA, almost six out of 10 adults under the age of 30 and 63 percent of adolescents between 13 and 17 I said the research center in December.
The investigation also led to the regulated court claims in the USA and Canada, which accused Tiktok of It is illegal to collect children's data.
Since the Canadian probe was declared Ottawa banned Tiktok from government devices And he launched a review of national security in the company and its Chinese owner by BYTEDANCE.
This review led to Closing Canadian business offices Tiktok at the end of 2024, Although the application remains affordable for Canadian users. The government never revealed its conclusions of national security and does not explain in detail why it believes that the application is still safe to use, calling it a “personal choice” to stay on the platform.
Dufres told the Committee on Ethics of Communities in December The fact that navigation in Tiktok Canada is difficult to force evidence of testimonies and documents from the company as part of its joint investigation.
The conclusion of the review came after Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canadians to listen to the warning From the then director of CSIS, David Vignio, who last year told CBC that Tiktok users “will be available to the Chinese government.”
Western governments warned that Baedance is subject to Chinese laws of national security, which allow the ruling Communist Party of China to access the data of any company, as the government considers necessary.
Fears were also revealed about the possibility that the Chinese authorities are manipulated by a valuable Tiktok recommendations algorithm for the formation of content that users see.
Tiktok sought to transfer American data to the American and controlled data center and supervision, known as Project Texas, but American lawmakers are questioning the effectiveness of this plan while Baitedns still controlled the platform.
Last year, the Congress adopted a law that would ban an application in the United States, unless Baitedans separate from the Tiktok and its algorithm.
The ban briefly entered into force in January after Tiktok and Baitedans refused to sell and unsuccessfully fought the legislation in court, but US President Donald Trump repeatedly extended the deadline to make a place for a deal with China.
The structure of the transaction entered the place last week after negotiations between American and Chinese officials.
On Monday, the White House confirmed that the framework calls for the consortium of investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake, to take on Tiktok operations in the United States and the licensed version of its algorithm, in the process that can be completed before the beginning of the next year.
It is expected that Trump will make an order later this week, which states that the terms of the transaction comply with security issues set forth by the law. China still must sign a framework proposal, and any final transaction will continue to be approved by regulatory authorities.
–It files from Associated Press
