The app’s European HQ is located in Dublin.
Ireland’s data privacy regulator has opened two probes into popular social media platform TikTok.
The inquiries relate to the processing and transferring to China of personal data of minors using the Chinese-owned short-video app.
The platform’s European headquarters are based in Dublin, making Ireland the lead regulator of TikTok under strict EU data privacy laws.
The first inquiry will “examine TikTok’s compliance with the GDPR’s data protection by design and default requirements as they relate to the processing of personal data in the context of platform settings for users under age 18 and age verification measures for persons under 18,” according to a statement from the Data Protection Commission.
The statement added that this inquiry will also examine “whether TikTok has complied with the GDPR’s transparency obligations in the context of the processing of personal data of users under age 18.”
The second probe will focus on “transfers by TikTok of personal data to China and TikTok’s compliance with the GDPR’s requirements for transfers of personal data to third countries.”
The Data Protection Commission, which regulates some of the world’s largest tech firms in the EU, earlier this month issued Facebook’s WhatsApp a record €225 million fine.
