TikTok has agreed to introduce stronger safeguards to keep children off its platform following a Canadian investigation that concluded the company’s protections were inadequate, privacy officials announced Tuesday.
The joint probe, led by Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne along with authorities in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, revealed that hundreds of thousands of Canadian children under 13 access TikTok each year despite the app’s age restrictions.
Investigators also found that TikTok had collected sensitive personal information from large numbers of children and used it for marketing and content targeting. “TikTok collects vast amounts of personal information about its users, including children. This data is being used to target content and ads, which can have harmful impacts, particularly on youth,” Dufresne said.
In response, TikTok has committed to:
- Enhancing age-assurance methods to prevent underage users from accessing the app.
- Improving communication to help users—especially younger ones—understand how their data is used.
- Restricting advertisers from targeting users under 18, aside from general categories like language or approximate location.
- Expanding privacy information available to Canadian users.
A TikTok spokesperson welcomed the outcome, saying the company is pleased commissioners agreed to many of its proposed improvements. However, the company stated it disagreed with some findings without specifying which ones.
The move comes amid heightened global scrutiny of TikTok. Governments in the EU and U.S. have imposed restrictions, citing security and privacy concerns linked to its parent company ByteDance Ltd. In Canada, TikTok’s expansion plans remain under review following a government order to cease operations over national security concerns—a decision the company is challenging.
