This Tuesday, July 12, TikTok announced the suspension of an update in Europe allowing the targeting of adults without their explicit consent.
The Chinese app has always sought consent from its users to make use of their activity on and off TikTok for targeted advertising. She would now like to do so without explicitly obtaining their permission on behalf of a ” legitimate interest ” for the company.
Violation of ePrivacy Directive and GDPR
The Italian data protection agency was the first to sound the alarm. According to the latter, TikTok’s new measure is a direct violation of the European ePrivacy Regulation, which ” explicitly establishes that data subject consent is the sole legal basis for storing information, or obtaining access to information already stored, in a subscriber’s or user’s terminal equipment “Explains the Italian regulator in a press release.
He also expresses concern about the difficulties encountered by the social network in enforcing the age conditions for access to the platform, which means that minors could also be subject to TikTok’s new regulations. By the rights conferred on it by the GDPR, the regulator therefore sent “ a formal “warning” to TikTok that processing data on the basis of its “legitimate interest” would be contrary to the current regulatory framework “.
Following this warning, TikTok agreed with the Irish Data Protection Agency, the main regulator of the GDPR application, to put the implementation of the new regulations on hold.
TikTok in turmoil across the Atlantic
” While we respond to stakeholder questions about the proposed changes to personalized advertising in Europe, we are suspending the introduction of this part of our privacy policy update. We believe that personalized advertising provides the best in-app experience for our community and allows us to align with industry practices. We look forward to engaging with stakeholders and addressing their concerns said a spokesperson for the Chinese app.
Now TikTok needs to talk to European regulators and hopes to convince them to let it target users as it wishes. As a reminder, a recent leak showed that data from American TikTok users was consulted from China, while its director had asserted the opposite before the Senate.
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Sources: The Hacker News, TechCrunch, GDPP
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