TikTok — Enforcement
Executive Summary
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, together with provincial privacy commissioners of Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, concluded a joint investigation finding that TikTok violated Canadian privacy law by collecting, using, and disclosing children's personal information without meaningful parental consent. The commissioners found TikTok's age-gating mechanisms were inadequate to prevent children under 13 from creating accounts and being subject to algorithmic profiling.
What Happened
On September 23, 2025, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, along with provincial privacy commissioners from Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, released findings from a joint investigation concluding that TikTok violated Canadian privacy law. The investigation found that TikTok collected, used, and disclosed personal information from hundreds of thousands of Canadian children under age 13 (14 in Quebec) without obtaining valid and meaningful parental consent. The commissioners determined that TikTok's age-assurance measures were inadequate to prevent underage users from creating accounts, and that the platform failed to adequately explain its collection and use of biometric information such as facial and voice data used for algorithmic profiling.
Who Is Affected
Hundreds of thousands of Canadian children under the age of 13 (14 in Quebec) are affected, as their personal information including biometric data, location data, and potentially sensitive information about health, political opinions, gender identity, and sexual orientation was collected and used for profiling. The investigation also noted concerns about the platform's ability to allow advertisers to target users based on characteristics like transgender identity, which could affect young users who managed to access the platform despite age restrictions.
Why It Matters
This enforcement action demonstrates that even platforms with stated age restrictions can systematically fail to protect children when verification mechanisms are inadequate. The investigation revealed that TikTok conducted elaborate profiling of users, combining biometrics with location data to make inferences about spending power and other characteristics, which commissioners noted was problematic even for adults who would not reasonably expect such extensive data processing. The joint investigation by multiple Canadian privacy authorities represents significant regulatory coordination on protecting children's privacy on social media platforms.
What You Should Do
Parents of children who may have used TikTok should review their children's social media activity and consider whether underage accounts were created. Users should be aware that TikTok collects biometric information from videos, images, and audio, and uses this data for profiling purposes that may not be immediately apparent. If you are concerned about data collection practices, you can file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or your provincial privacy commissioner.
AI-Assisted
Event summaries are generated by Claude AI from verified sources and reviewed by humans before publication.
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