TikTok ruling on child-privacy fine sets precedent for online platforms, UK ICO says
By Imogen Howse ( August 5, 2026, 15:32 GMT | Insight) -- A court ruling against TikTok sets an important precedent for online platforms, the UK Information Commissioner's Office said, after judges rejected the company's argument that the ICO lacked the legal authority to issue a £12.7 million fine over the platform's processing of children's personal data. The Upper Tribunal ruled that TikTok could not rely on data protection law's "special purposes" provisions because the processing itself wasn't carried out for journalistic, academic, artistic or literary activities. TikTok's wider appeal will now continue before the First-tier Tribunal.The UK's privacy watchdog said on Wednesday that a court ruling against TikTok sets "an important precedent," after judges rejected the platform's argument that the regulator lacked the legal authority to issue a £12.7 million ($17.1 million) fine over its processing of children's personal data....
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