The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has initiated an inquiry into TikTok’s data collection practices and the extent to which it relies on user consent.
The Office will investigate whether TikTok breached the online privacy of Australians through its use of marketing pixels.
A marketing pixel (also known as a tracking pixel) is a 1×1 pixel that is invisible to the eye and is placed on a website, email, or advertising banner. It becomes operational as a result of specific actions, such as opening/viewing a banner ad or visiting a particular website. For instance, if you searched for a product on Amazon but did not purchase it, and later encountered an advertisement for the same product on other sites, it indicates that the marketing pixel has effectively tracked your activity.
Returning to the main issue, Australia suspects that TikTok collected users’ personal data, including email addresses and phone numbers, without their consent by placing the aforementioned marketing pixels on the platform.
If the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner gathers enough evidence against TikTok, a further investigation will be initiated.
It’s important to note that TikTok was fined $560 million last year for violating the European Union’s personal data protection legislation, specifically for failing to protect children’s personal data. Prior to that, the relevant Office in the United Kingdom fined the platform $24 million for illegally processing the personal data of 1.4 million users under the age of 13.
It’s also worth noting that due to TikTok’s Chinese roots and its opaque policies regarding the collection, processing, and transfer of personal data, Australia banned the TikTok app on certain government devices in 2023. The app is also prohibited on certain government devices in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Norway, France, the United Kingdom, Latvia, the European Union, New Zealand, the United States of America, and Taiwan. Afghanistan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, and Somalia have completely banned the application.
Prepared according to https://www.theguardian.com/…/tiktok-data-collection…
