TikTok Illegally Collected Sensitive Data from Canadian Children, Investigation Finds

The joint investigation conducted by Canada’s federal privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne along with provincial authorities in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta-revealed that hundreds of thousands of Canadian children under the age of 13 accessed TikTok each year, despite company claims that the platform is not intended for that age group.

The probe found TikTok collected sensitive personal information from "a large number" of Canadian children and used the data for targeted advertising and content curation. Investigators concluded that the company’s existing measures to restrict underage access and inform users about data use were insufficient.

“TikTok collects vast amounts of personal information about its users, including children,” Dufresne said at a press conference. “This data is being used to target the content and ads that users see, which can have harmful impacts, particularly on youth.”

In response to the findings, TikTok has agreed to implement stronger age-assurance tools and improve how it communicates its data practices to younger users. The company also made several changes during the course of the investigation, including banning advertisers from targeting users under 18 except based on broad factors like language and general location—and expanding access to privacy information for Canadian users.

A TikTok spokesperson said the company was “pleased” that privacy commissioners supported many of its proposed changes. “While we disagree with some of the findings, we remain committed to maintaining strong transparency and privacy practices,” the company said in a statement, without specifying which findings it disputed.

The Canadian investigation adds to growing international scrutiny of TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. Governments and regulators in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere have raised alarms over the potential misuse of user data and the platform’s influence on young people.

In recent months, the European Union's top institutions have banned TikTok from staff devices, and the U.S. Senate passed legislation prohibiting federal employees from installing the app on government-issued phones. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions over TikTok’s Chinese ownership continue to fuel regulatory action worldwide.