Brazil levies $30m fine on ByteDance over child data privacy breaches
Regulators order TikTok’s parent company to erase data from eight million minors and overhaul its youth-protection framework.
Brazil’s data protection authority has fined TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, nearly $30m for the alleged mishandling of children and teenagers’ personal data. The ruling marks the latest institutional move by the regulator to scrutinise social media platforms operating within the country.
The regulatory body determined that TikTok breached data privacy laws across both logged-in accounts and guest browsing sessions. According to the ruling, the platform collected and processed young users’ personal information without a valid legal basis or adequate safeguards. The regulator estimated that the data of at least 8 million children may have been processed, citing systemic deficiencies within the platform’s age-verification mechanism.
A central focus of the decision is TikTok’s “logged-out feed” feature, which allows users to browse content without creating an account. The regulator noted that this function enables widespread use of the platform by minors while bypassing age-verification checks. While the feature is available in Brazil, the authority pointed out that it is not present in the United States or Europe, where access is restricted to registered users.
ByteDance is now ordered to erase all data amassed illegally and to formulate a comprehensive youth-protection framework. The company has been given 10 days to appeal the decision, meaning the final outcome of the penalty remains subject to potential legal challenge.
The fine arrives as part of a broader regulatory push in Brazil to manage internet use by minors. Earlier this month, the same authority ordered Discord to suspend its livestreaming feature across the country. That decision followed the suicide of a 13-year-old girl, with authorities stating she was encouraged to harm herself during a livestream.
Under President Luiz Inácio da Silva, Brazil’s government and Supreme Court have pursued various strategies to regulate digital access for young people, with mixed results to date. These domestic efforts mirror similar regulatory initiatives currently underway in Australia, Canada, and Indonesia.
