FILE PHOTO: The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company’s U.S. head office in Culver City, California, U.S., September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
BRUSSELS — Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok was hit with multiple complaints from EU consumer groups on Tuesday for allegedly violating the bloc’s consumer laws and for failing to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content.
Owned by China’s ByteDance, TikTok has been rapidly growing in popularity around the world, particularly among teenagers. It faces growing criticism about its privacy and safety policies following a number of incidents.
European consumer group BEUC cited several issues in its complaint, among them its terms of service.
“They are unclear, ambiguous, and favor TikTok to the detriment of its users. Its copyright terms are equally unfair as they give TikTok an irrevocable right to use, distribute and reproduce the videos published by users, without remuneration,” it said.
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It said the company’s virtual item policy where users can purchase coins to use for virtual gifts for TikTok celebrities whose performance they like, contains unfair terms and misleading practices.
“TikTok fails to protect children and teenagers from hidden advertising and potentially harmful content on its platform,” BEUC said.
