Volkswacht Bodensee - Brazil fines TikTok $30 mn in 'powerful signal' over child safety

Brazil has taken a tough stance on the regulation of social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 to have their accounts linked to those of their parents.

Fabricio Lopes, an enforcement director with the ANPD data protection agency, told a press conference that TikTok "was not taking the necessary measures to prevent adolescents from accessing the platform and from having the data of these children and adolescents processed."

This data was "being used to offer advertising to adolescents."

He said the fine of 153.7 million reais ($29.9 million) was a "powerful signal to other platforms regarding how seriously the ANPD takes this work" and that the agency hoped they would "get the message."

TikTok agreed last week to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice over claims that the video-sharing platform collected children's personal data without parental permission.

- Tougher enforcement -

The ANPD this month also ordered popular streaming platform Discord to suspend livestreams and video calls after a teenage girl was allegedly encouraged to take her own life during a broadcast.

The agency told AFP that an appeal filed by Discord on Monday against the suspension is under review.

ANPD director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said the agency had last week initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online.

"I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action" in coming months, she said.

In addition to the fine, the ANPD ordered TikTok parent company ByteDance to delete data collected in violation of regulations.

Coutinho said TikTok had committed to suspending all advertisements for users who are not logged in.

TikTok has committed to "implementing a compliance plan to improve the protection of children and adolescents," the ANPD said.

The platform will be required to automatically apply stricter privacy settings to accounts belonging to children under the age of 16, strengthen parental supervision systems, and implement stricter content filters.

In a statement sent to AFP, TikTok said the fine stems from concerns raised in 2021 and "does not take into account" measures that have been implemented since then.

The statement said TikTok has rolled out over 50 safety features aimed at teens over the past six years.

These include restricting direct messaging for children under 16, not recommending this age group's content to strangers, and allowing parents to set screen-time limits and block accounts.

According to the ANPD, TikTok has ten days to appeal the fine.

In 2024, the platform X was blocked for 40 days in Brazil until the social media network owned by the world's richest person, Elon Musk, complied with the Supreme Court's orders to remove accounts spreading disinformation.

B.Baumann--VB