Ireland's data protection watchdog has fined TikTok, a company originally from China, €530 million for a breach regarding the handling of European data.
The Irish regulator, responsible for ensuring TikTok complies with European privacy laws, found that the app violated these rules by transferring personal data to China. TikTok has been given six months to rectify the issue.
Remote access to European users' data by TikTok staff in China was granted without adequate proof of data protection equivalent to EU standards, according to the regulator.
Initially, TikTok had informed the Irish watchdog that no European personal data was stored on servers in China. However, last month, the company notified the Irish authorities that it had discovered in February that some data was indeed stored there, albeit in limited amounts. TikTok claims these data have since been removed.
TikTok has announced plans to appeal against the fine.
