The viral social network TikTok, known for its short music videos, is being investigated in Colombia by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC). According to the regulatory entity communicated this Tuesday, the practices of use and administration of data of minors on the platform will be analyzed.
TikTok, created in China, is a social network that in the last two years has gained more and more strength in the world, ranking among the top 5 most used social networks, above Twitter, Snapchat, or LinkedIn.
In the current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of the network in the region has become popular.
According to the SIC, in its role as the national personal data authority, the investigation was initiated ex officio and seeks to establish whether TikTok Pte Ltd. (based in Singapore) complies
or not with the Colombian regulation regarding the collection and processing of personal data of children and adolescents.
The national Constitution orders special and prevailing protection for
the rights of minors, the public that uses this social network the most.
According to the communication, the Superintendency seeks to establish “whether TikTok implemented the principle of demonstrated responsibility in the treatment of the data of Colombian citizens who use its services.”
This social network, available in more than 150 countries, in a very short time of existence, managed to reach 1,000 million active users per month, the same figure maintained by Instagram. Most users focus on people between the ages of 13 and 19.
2019 was marked by US trade tensions. USA and China, where amid the speeches, TikTok began to be viewed with suspicion.
In addition to a revised financial deal that allowed ByteDance (the company that owns TikTok) to purchase the Musical.ly app, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined the platform $ 5, $ 7 million, precisely for failing to collect and treat lawful personal data of children and adolescents in that country.
Others, such as the United Kingdom, are also conducting research on the matter. The failure mainly occurred because there was no express consent from the parents of the minors to authorize the data processing.
In recent months, TikTok has made decisions like including parental control features to calm things down.
However, there are numerous concerns about the type of content that minors can view online, which are not necessarily child-friendly. These include dangerous challenges, in which adolescents have been injured by risky practices.
