TikTok fined $368 million for failing to protect children’s privacy.

TikTok has been fined $368 million by European regulators for failing to protect children’s privacy. The investigation found that the sign-up process for teen users resulted in settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos. The Irish Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies, issued the fine and reprimand for the violations dating to the second half of 2020. TikTok has since made changes to their platform, including making all accounts for teens under 16 private by default and disabling direct messaging for 13- to 15-year-olds. The Irish regulator is still carrying out a second investigation into whether TikTok complied with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation when it transferred users’ personal information to China.