TikTok in hot water for breaching consumer laws across the UK
However, the application owners have denied the accusations
BRUSSELS: On Tuesday, the Chinese-owned short video sharing app TikTok was hit by many lawsuits from EU consumer organizations for allegedly breaching the consumer laws of the bloc and for failing to shield children from secret ads and inappropriate content.
TikTok, particularly among teenagers, has been rapidly growing in popularity around the world. Following a series of events, it faces increasing scrutiny about its privacy and security policy.
European users group BEUC referred to a number of issues with regard to its terms of service.
It said, “they are unclear, ambiguous and favour TikTok to the detriment of its users. Its copyright terms are equally unfair as they give TikTok an irrevocable right to use, distribute and reproduce the videos published by users, without remuneration,”
It claimed that the virtual item policy of the business where users can buy coins for TikTok celebrities whose success they like includes discriminatory terminology and deceptive practices for virtual gifts.
BEUC, according to Reuters, said that TikTok does not shield children and adolescents on its website from secret ads and potentially dangerous content.
“The application’s practices for the processing of consumers’ personal information are misleading,” it added.
Moreover, in 15 countries consumer organizations have cautioned their authorities and pressed them to act in addition to the BEUC’s complaints.
However, TikTok’s authorities denied the allegations and said that they have always been open about getting feedback and have also reached out to BEUC.
They are willing to welcome a meeting to listen to the concerns over the laws.
TikTok spokesman claimed that it had created an in-app summary of its privacy policy in order to make it easier for young people to comprehend the company’s position on privacy policy.
