TikTok accepts £12.7m UK privacy fine and ends children’s-data appeals
Key Takeaways
- 01TikTok accepted a £12.7 million ICO fine for UK data-protection breaches involving children’s personal data.
- 02The company withdrew two appeals, including an appeal concerning the ICO’s investigation of children’s data in TikTok recommender systems.
- 03The enforcement action covers unlawful use of children’s data and highlights regulatory scrutiny of personalised-content systems used by children.
- 04The outcome underlines the need for child-facing online services to apply appropriate data-protection safeguards to age assurance, personalisation and recommendations.
TikTok has accepted a £12.7 million fine imposed by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for data-protection breaches involving children’s personal data. On 24 September 2026, the ICO said TikTok also withdrew two appeals connected with its children’s privacy enforcement action.
The case concerns TikTok’s handling of children’s data, including the unlawful use of that data and the use of children’s data in recommender systems—the systems that select and suggest content to users.
By withdrawing its appeals, TikTok brings the ICO action to a close and accepts the financial penalty. The outcome reinforces the ICO’s focus on platforms’ responsibilities when they process children’s information, particularly where data supports personalised content recommendations.
Online services used by children should ensure that their age-assurance, data-use and recommender-system practices comply with UK data-protection requirements, including safeguards for children’s personal information.