European regulators imposed a $368 million fine on TikTok for failing to protect children's privacy and violating data privacy rules in Europe.
Imposing a fine of $368 million on “For security reasons.” New York bans TikTok on official phones
The Irish Data Protection Commission, the main privacy regulator for major technology companies whose European headquarters are in Dublin, said it had fined TikTok €345 million and reprimanded the platform for violations dating back to the second half of 2020.
The investigation found that the sign-up process for teenage users led to settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos.
These default settings also pose a risk to children under the age of 13 who have accessed the platform despite not being permitted to do so. And the Family Pairing feature designed for parents to manage settings wasn't strict enough.
TikTok said in a statement that it did not agree with the decision, “particularly the level of the fine imposed,” noting that the regulatory body’s criticism focused on features and settings dating back three years.
It noted that it had made changes long before the investigation began in September 2021, including making all accounts for teens under 16 years private by default and disabling direct messaging for those between 13 and 15 years old.
The Irish regulator has been criticized for not moving quickly enough in its investigations into big tech companies since EU privacy laws came into effect in 2018.
Twitter : Musk announces a controversial “new privacy feature” on the X website
Elon Musk revealed a new feature on X (formerly Twitter) that allows users to keep the history of posts they liked private, by simply clicking on “Hide Likes Tab.”
“You can now hide your likes, but I recommend keeping them open and only using bookmarks for interesting posts,” Musk wrote.
Musk introduced the “bookmarks” feature, which he considers “de facto silent admiration,” after raising the issue, months before he bought Twitter last year.
Musk made many questionable changes, ranging from a comprehensive overhaul of the verification system, to the reinstatement of controversial accounts including Donald Trump's account.
In July of this year, Elon Musk made the biggest change recorded to date, getting rid of the bird logo and ditching the name “Twitter” for an “X.”
This move is part of a larger effort by Musk to meet his long-term ambitions, to “do everything” to compete with the Chinese “WeChat” application, which blends social media functions with financial services, e-commerce and others.
Users reacted to Musk's announcement of "hide likes" largely with sarcasm about explicit content that the user may not want to agree to publicly.