Brazil Fines TikTok Record US$30 Million for Children's Data

The ANPD, Brazil's data protection authority, has levied an unprecedented fine of US$30 million against ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, for improper handling of children's data. This penalty, revealed on Tuesday, marks the highest fine since the authority was established in 2020. The ANPD found five violations of Brazil's data protection regulations, including the collection of data from roughly 20% of Brazilian children and the failure to prevent minors from accessing the platform. ByteDance has 10 working days to contest the ruling. Furthermore, the company is required to delete records of users aged 13 to 18 without verified parental consent within 60 working days, and to instruct partners to do the same, facing daily fines exceeding US$26,000 for non-compliance. This sanction is based on Technical Note 50, which indicates that Brazilian TikTok users could access personalized feeds without age declaration or acceptance of terms, unlike in the U.S. and Europe, where such access is limited. The note references a 2023 decision by the European Data Protection Board affirming restricted access in the EU. ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, is the parent company of TikTok, a leading global social media platform.