Fear of EU’s Rebuke, TikTok Delays Launch of Targeted Ads Using User Data

JAKARTA - TikTok is suspending changes to its privacy policy for targeted advertising on Tuesday, July 12, or the day before it goes into effect. Meanwhile, the EU's main regulator is studying whether TikTok complies with the bloc's data protection rules.

Data protection authorities in Italy have sounded the early warning signs. They say that Chinese company ByteDance's TikTok has notified users of the video app that it will be sending targeted ads to users from July 13 without seeking consent to use the data stored on their devices.

The Italian watchdog has notified Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) about TikTok's potential breach of EU data rules. The Irish agency is the main EU regulator for TikTok and other leading internet businesses.

"Following on to yesterday's engagement with DPC (July 11), TikTok has now agreed to temporarily suspend implementation of the changes to allow DPC to conduct its analysis," DPC said in a statement, cited from Reuters.

He added that they had raised the issue with all other data monitoring authorities in the 27-member EU.

TikTok, which has seen rapid growth, especially among young people, confirmed that it is temporarily pausing its privacy policy changes in Europe but will maintain its plans for targeted advertising.

"We believe that personalized advertising provides the best in-app experience for our community and brings us in line with industry practices, and we look forward to engaging with stakeholders and addressing their concerns," said a TikTok spokesperson.

Italy's data protection authority welcomed what it called a responsible decision on the part of TikTok to suspend the planned changes.

Companies operating in the EU can face fines of up to 4% of their global revenue for privacy violations.

DPC has opened two other inquiries to TikTok, related to the processing of children's personal data and the transfer of personal data to China.