TikTok’s Lost Battle in the EU
⚔️ TikTok, in fact, did what it is accused of—it transferred personal data of European citizens to its offices in China. And now it’s time to pay.
He is a genius: you can’t understand anything he says.— Quoted by Sergio de Régules
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🔮 I’m here to tell you the future: TikTok will lose its appeal against the Irish Data Protection Commission’s decision, because it did, in fact, what it is accused of—transferring data of European citizens to its offices in China and failing to be transparent about its data transfer policy.
At most, TikTok will manage to reduce the agency’s fine by demonstrating that it has made subsequent efforts to ensure data security.
🇪🇺 Give me context. The Irish Data Protection Commission —acting on behalf of the European Union— informed on May 2nd. that it sanctioned TikTok for two infringements of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). (DPC Ireland)
Violation of Article 45(1). TikTok transferred data of European citizens to its offices in China without demonstrating that the cross-border processing ensured a level of data protection similar to that required by the GDPR. Sanction: 485 million euros.
Violation of Article 13(1)(f). TikTok failed to comply with the principle of information by concealing in its privacy policy that data would be transferred to its offices in China. Sanction: 45 million euros.
Total: 530 million euros.
TikTok complained that the agency did not consider its efforts —subsequent to the investigation and sanction period: September 2021 to May 2023— to offer the best data protection scheme established in Europe, called Project Clover. (TikTok)
TikTok has 175 million users and 6,000 employees in the European Union.
This sanction against TikTok is the third highest that has been imposed for violations of the European regulation. (Enforcement Tracker)
Meta holds first place for a similar reason: the illegal transfer of personal data to the United States. The sanction in 2023 was for 1.2 billion euros (about 26.5 billion pesos).
TikTok has insisted that it maintains high standards of personal information protection and that the Chinese government does not have access to the data.
👩🏼⚖️ We’ll see how the future is confirmed in the courts in Europe.
About me
I’m José Soto Galindo, a journalist. I was Director of Media at INAI, the national transparency and privacy agency of Mexico. I led El Economista online from 2010 to 2024, and before that, I was a news editor at Público-Milenio (2001-2009). I hold a Master’s degree in Transparency and Personal Data Protection and have specializations in telecommunications law and information technology law. I teach journalism at the Universidad de Guadalajara.