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By rdnewsNOW staff

Improved privacy

Joint investigation finds TikTok collected data of Canadian youth

Sep 23, 2025 | 4:17 PM

A joint investigation, which included the Government of Alberta, has revealed the measures put in place to keep children off the popular social-media application TikTok and to prevent the collection of their personal information for the purpose of profiling, to be inadequate.

The investigation into the video-sharing platform was led by Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne and provincial counterparts in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta.

Authorities say even though TikTok has stated it’s not meant for people under 13-years-old, their investigation found hundreds of thousands of children in Canada have accessed the app each year. They also found the platform has collected and used the children’s personal information.

The investigation also found TikTok did not explain its data practices to teen and adult users well enough. They also did not obtain meaningful consent for the collection and use of user data, including sensitive data of younger users, as required under Canadian privacy laws.

“Taking actions to protect the privacy rights of children has been front and centre for my office and for other privacy commissioners across the country for some time. This investigation is an excellent example of why we have prioritized this issue,” said Diane McLeod, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, in a news release.

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“Children on TikTok are being exposed to a wide spectrum of risks and harms that include but go beyond issues of privacy,” she continued. “They are more likely to see video content that is not age-appropriate. They are more likely to receive targeted ads that normalize gambling, increase identity theft, hinder healthy development, foster negative body images or early sexualization, or reinforce gender stereotypes.”

“This is why the next steps are so important,” added McLeod. “We are encouraged by the measures taken by TikTok to date and the commitments made for the future. That said, we will continue to monitor the situation and work with TikTok to ensure the implementation of the agreed-upon recommendations.”

As a result, TikTok has agreed to improve privacy communications to make sure those who use the application understand how their data could be used, particularly younger users.

The company has also agreed to improve age-assurance measures to keep underage people off the platform and to provide more privacy information in French.

In addition, TikTok made improvements during the investigation which included preventing advertisers to target users under the age of 18.

They also expanded the privacy information available to Canadian users, in English and French, which lays out the rights of users to access information about them that TikTok holds.

A link to the report can be found here.