Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) has issued a significant €530 million ($601 million) fine against TikTok for breaching data protection regulations by transferring the data of European users to China. This penalty highlights TikTok’s noncompliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The DPC stated that TikTok failed to adhere to transparency requirements and did not ensure that users’ data received equivalent protections in China as it would within the EEA (European Economic Area).

The decision comes after an investigation began in September 2021, looking into how TikTok handled data transfers to China. DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle mentioned that TikTok’s practices contravened Article 46(1) of GDPR, primarily due to inadequate assurances of privacy protections for European users.

The ruling requires TikTok to halt all data transfers to China over a six-month period while also mandating compliance with data processing regulations. Additionally, TikTok misled the DPC during its inquiry by initially claiming that it did not store EEA users’ data on Chinese servers. However, a recent admission revealed that limited EEA data had indeed been hosted on servers in China.

In response, Christine Grahn, TikTok’s head of public policy and government relations for Europe, argued that the DPC’s ruling did not consider the company’s ongoing Project Clover, which aims to enhance European users’ data security. Grahn emphasized that TikTok has never received requests for data from Chinese authorities.

This fine marks TikTok’s second penalty from the DPC in recent months, following a prior fine of €345 million in September 2023 for inadequately managing children’s data under GDPR guidelines.

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