TikTok has been slapped with a €530 million ($600 million) fine by European Union privacy regulators following a four-year probe into its data practices. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), TikTok’s lead regulator in the EU, announced the penalty on Friday, citing breaches of the bloc’s strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The investigation revealed that TikTok failed to ensure European users’ personal data, accessed by staff in China, was adequately protected, raising concerns over potential access by Chinese authorities under laws deemed incompatible with EU standards.
The DPC also criticized TikTok for misleading regulators, initially claiming no European data was stored on Chinese servers—only to admit in April 2025 that some data had been held there since February. Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle called the violations “serious,” ordering TikTok to comply with GDPR within six months.
This marks the company’s largest EU fine to date, surpassing its €345 million penalty in 2023 for child privacy lapses.
TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, rejected the allegations, insisting it has never shared European user data with Chinese authorities and plans to appeal the decision. The fine amplifies ongoing scrutiny of TikTok’s data security amid global tensions over its Chinese ties.
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