TikTok is facing fresh complaints in Europe, as consumer groups accuse the company of violating EU law. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has filed a complaint against TikTok with the European Commission and its network of consumer protection authorities, while consumer groups in 15 countries have notified their national authorities, urging them to investigate the popular social media platform.
The complaints include allegations of unfair terms, including those regarding TikTok's copyright and virtual currency, concerns about the type of content children are exposed to on the platform, as well as accusations of deceptive data and privacy.
Details about the alleged violations are set out in two reports related to the complaints: one covers issues with TikTok's approach to consumer protection, and the other focuses on data protection and privacy.
Child Safety
Regarding child safety, the report accuses TikTok of failing to protect children and teenagers from hidden ads and “potentially harmful” content on its platform.
Users are, for example, encouraged to participate in branded hashtag challenges, where they are encouraged to create content about specific products. As popular followers are often the starting point for such challenges, the commercial intent is usually hidden from users. TikTok also likely fails to carry out due diligence when it comes to protecting children from inappropriate content, such as videos showing suggestive content, which is only a few scrolls away, BEUC said in a press release.
It should be recalled at this point that TikTok has already faced regulatory intervention in Italy this year over concerns about child safety on its platform, following the death of a 10-year-old girl in the country. Local media reported that the child died of suffocation after participating in a Blackout Challenge on TikTok – triggering the DPA’s urgent intervention.
Shortly after, TikTok agreed to require age verification for every user in Italy, although the verification simply asks the user to enter a date to confirm their age, so it is very easy to bypass this process.
Terms of Use
Another issue that has raised complaints and concerns centers on an allegation of unfair terms of use – including intellectual property, with BEUC noting that TikTok’s Terms and Conditions grant it “an irrevocable right to use, distribute and reproduce videos posted by users, without remuneration.”
A virtual currency feature it offers is also highlighted as problematic in terms of consumer rights.
TikTok allows users to purchase digital currencies, which they can use to buy virtual gifts for other users (which can then be converted by the user into fiat). However, BEUC says the “Virtual Item Policy” contains “unfair terms and misleading practices” – noting how it claims an “absolute right” to modify the exchange rate between currencies and gifts, thereby “potentially circumventing the financial transaction”.
While TikTok displays the price to purchase packs of its virtual currencies, there is no clarity on the process used to convert these gifts into in-app diamonds (which the user receiving the gift can choose to redeem for real money, which is sent to them via PayPal or another third-party payment processor).
Privacy
When it comes to data protection and privacy, TikTok is accused of a whole litany of “deceptive” practices – including targeting children. According to the complaint, TikTok fails to properly inform users about what personal data is being collected, for what purpose, and on what legal grounds – as required under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Other issues highlighted in the report include the lack of an exemption from processing personal data for advertising (also known as “forced consent” – something tech giants like Facebook and Google), the lack of explicit consent for the processing of sensitive personal data, which has special protections under the GDPR, and the absence of data security and protection, among other issues.
Commenting on the complaints against TikTok in Europe, Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, stated the following:
“In just a few years, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps with millions of users across Europe. However, it is failing its users by violating their rights on a massive scale. We have uncovered a whole range of consumer rights violations and have therefore filed a complaint against the company. Children love TikTok, but the company is not protecting them. We do not want our youngest to be exposed to hidden advertising while they are just trying to have fun. Together with our members – consumer groups from across Europe – we are calling on the authorities to take swift action. They must act now to make sure that TikTok is a place where consumers, and especially children, can have fun without being deprived of their rights.”
It is worth noting that the Chinese application of ByteDance, which is now facing complaints in Europe, has more than 800 million active users worldwide, while it has had over two billion downloads from the Google Play and Apple App Stores.
