Ireland regulator opens data privacy probes into TikTok

Ireland's data privacy regulator has opened two inquiries into Chinese-owned short-video platform TikTok related to the processing of personal data of users under the age of 18 and the transfers by TikTok of personal data to China.

Ireland is the lead regulator of TikTok under the European Union's strict data privacy laws as the firm's European headquarters are based in Dublin.

The first of the probes relates "to the processing of personal data in the context of platform settings for users under age 18 and age verification measures for persons under 13," Ireland's Data Protection Commission said in a statement.

The second probe will focus on transfers by TikTok of personal data to China and whether the company complies with EU data law in its transfers of personal data to countries outside the bloc, the statement said.

Ireland's data watchdog, which regulates many of the world's largest tech firms in the EU, earlier this month levied a record 225 million euro fine on Facebook's WhatsApp.

But it has faced criticism from other European regulators at the speed of its inquiries and the severeness of its sanctions.