Pierluigi Paganini
May 02, 2025
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined the popular video-sharing platform TikTok €530 million for violating data laws by transferring data belonging to European users to China.
TikTok violated GDPR by transferring EEA user data to China and lacking transparency. TikTok was given 6 months to comply with data rules, or face suspension of data transfers to China.
“The decision, which was made by the Commissioners for Data Protection, Dr Des Hogan and Mr Dale Sunderland, and has been notified to TikTok, finds that TikTok infringed the GDPR regarding its transfers of EEA User Data to China and its transparency requirements.” reads the DPC’s announcement. “The decision includes administrative fines totalling €530 million and an order requiring TikTok to bring its processing into compliance within 6 months. The decision also includes an order suspending TikTok’s transfers to China if processing is not brought into compliance within this timeframe.”
In September 2021, Ireland’s DPC launched two investigations into TikTok, one on data protection for minors and transparency, and another on data transfers to China.
“TikTok’s personal data transfers to China infringed the GDPR because TikTok failed to verify, guarantee and demonstrate that the personal data of EEA users, remotely accessed by staff in China, was afforded a level of protection essentially equivalent to that guaranteed within the EU.” states DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle. “As a result of TikTok’s failure to undertake the necessary assessments, TikTok did not address potential access by Chinese authorities to EEA personal data under Chinese anti-terrorism, counter-espionage and other laws identified by TikTok as materially diverging from EU standards.”
Under Article 45(1) GDPR, personal data can be transferred to a third country if the European Commission decides it offers adequate data protection.
The DPC found TikTok violated Article 46(1) GDPR by failing to ensure EEA user data transferred to China had protections equal to EU standards. TikTok’s own assessment showed Chinese laws, such as the Anti-Terrorism, Counter-Espionage, Cybersecurity, and National Intelligence Laws, undermined data protection. As a result, the DPC ordered TikTok to suspend these transfers and comply with GDPR within six months.
“The DPC is taking these recent developments regarding the storage of EEA User Data on servers in China very seriously.” added Doyle. “Whilst TikTok has informed the DPC that the data has now been deleted, we are considering what further regulatory action may be warranted, in consultation with our peer EU Data Protection Authorities.”
TikTok disagrees with the decision and plan to appeal in full, arguing that the decision ignores its €12B Project Clover data protections launched in 2023. The company denies giving EU data to China.
“The decision fails to fully consider Project Clover, our €12 billion industry-leading data security initiative that includes some of the most stringent data protections anywhere. It instead focuses on a select period from years ago, prior to Clover’s 2023 implementation and does not reflect the safeguards now in place.” reads the company’s response to the decision. “We disagree with the decision and plan to appeal in full.”
In September 2023, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined TikTok €345 million for violating children’s privacy. The Irish data regulators discovered that the popular video-sharing app allowed adults to send direct messages to certain teenagers who have no family connection with them.
The investigation conducted by the DPC revealed that a severe flaw in TikTok’s “family pairing” feature that have been abused to link children’s accounts to “unverified” adults.
Children under 13 are exposed to serious risks due to the default account setting that allows anyone to view the content they publish.
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