In response to a report by NOS (in Dutch) that Chinese TikTok employees are given access to personal data of European TikTok users, several members of the House of Representatives asked the Cabinet questions about this. Secretary of State Van Huffelen, also on behalf of the Minister for Legal Protection, answered these questions (in Dutch).
The main message of these answers is as follows:
- Uncertainty about number of underage TikTok users – The State Secretary has checked with TikTok to check how many of its Dutch users are underage, but TikTok refuses to provide this information. The secretary of state notes that the accuracy of the age provided by the user is not verified by TikTok and that British research has shown that many children have adult social media accounts.
- Transfer of personal data to China in violation of the GDPR is “absolutely unacceptable” – TikTok was also asked to clarify which employees have access to which data, but TikTok did not want to answer this question either. The Cabinet finds it “absolutely unacceptable” when personal data of Dutch TikTok users – specifically when these are children – unlawfully ends up in the hands of the Chinese government.
- Secretary of State engages in conversation with TikTok – A conversation is scheduled with TikTok on December 6, 2022 during which the principles of privacy protection will be brought to TikTok’s attention.