This inquiry will also look at the app’s open messaging system, which can also allow adults to message children. The inquiry began in February, triggered by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s $5.7-million fine against the company for similar issues, information commissioner Elizabeth Denham told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. Denham also said TikTok could be violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which “requires the company to provide different services and different protections for children.” (The Guardian)

Talking point: TikTok’s user base skews young: 41 per cent of users are between 16 and 24 years old. The app has come under fire for not doing enough to protect those young users. A BBC investigation in April found that the platform did not suspend users who were sending sexual messages to children as young as nine years old. If TikTok is found to have violated the GDPR, it could be fined up to £17.9 million, or four per cent of its total revenue, whichever is higher. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t disclose its revenue, so estimating the size of the fine is not possible, but the firm is valued at US$75 billion.