TikTok parent company Bytedance sets aside $1 Billion to cover future European data privacy fines as the Chinese company faces a barrage of lawsuits over its mishandling of children’s data (www.forbes.com)
from 0x815@feddit.org to technology@lemmy.world on 12 Oct 2024 09:25
https://feddit.org/post/3693754

cross-posted from: feddit.org/post/3693467

Chinese social media giant Bytedance was dealt a stinging blow last September when Ireland’s data privacy watchdog issued it a record $370 million fine over its failure to properly safeguard the personal data of children using its app TikTok. New corporate filings suggest that Bytedance expects more fines like this to come. The company has explicitly set aside $1 billion to cover future fines from European privacy regulators.

Bytedance has faced a barrage of lawsuits and investigations from regulators around the world over TikTok’s addictive design, handling of user data and lack of safeguards for teenage users. Only yesterday, the attorneys general of thirteen states and the District of Columbia filed separate lawsuits claiming that TikTok was designed to be used compulsively and had harmed children and teens as a result.

The $1 billion provision for future fines was revealed in corporate accounts for TikTok’s European operations filed this week with the United Kingdom’s Companies House. The accounts also showed that TikTok’s European revenues surged to $4.57 billion last year, up from $2.6 billion in 2022. Its losses have also nearly tripled to $1.3 billion in 2023, up from $512 million.

[…]

The scale of total fines and penalties facing TikTok on the European continent could be even larger than the $1 billion provision in its 2023 accounts. The European Commission opened an investigation into TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA) in February 2024. The European Union can fine companies up to 6% of global revenue for breaches of the DSA, or impose a ban.

#technology

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Visstix@lemmy.world on 12 Oct 2024 10:04 next collapse

How the fuck do they have a loss of 1.3 billion on a video app?

Badeendje@lemmy.world on 12 Oct 2024 10:13 next collapse

Because it’s only loss.

If you throw a bunch of investments or R&D costs into this year, you can all of a sudden have a huge financial loss while having positive cashflow.

Same is true for buying other companies, depreciation and other fuckery with stuff like “goodwill”… or you just paid off a massive loan to an actual creditor, bought back stocks, or moved cash to your offshore holding to dodge taxes (in the form of renting your own IP from your own company in said tax haven)… The list is nearly endless.

The point is, in most countries a loss can be spread out over multiple years to offset profits. Meaning you don’t have to pay taxes on the profits.

bokherif@lemmy.world on 13 Oct 2024 01:13 collapse

Data collection, data sales, advertisements.

YeetPics@mander.xyz on 12 Oct 2024 10:23 next collapse

Well, EU… it’s time to get to work.

unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de on 12 Oct 2024 14:30 collapse

Time to just fine them for the full amount on the first fine. Then afterwards you can go after the rest of their value and assets.

ravhall@discuss.online on 13 Oct 2024 01:17 collapse

Fine please, thank you. Move along. Fine please, thank you. Move along…

vodkasolution@feddit.it on 12 Oct 2024 10:52 next collapse

They can’t just pay a fine, they gotta act properly, or being shut down

WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world on 12 Oct 2024 13:53 collapse

Yeah, they should have learned from all those other corporate criminals that never experienced actual consequences

refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org on 12 Oct 2024 13:17 next collapse

If the punishment for a crime is a fine, then it’s only a crime for poor people and small businesses.

We need to see prison sentences for anyone involved in making the decisions to commit crimes and the platform needs to face banishment.

WhatThaFudge@lemmy.sdf.org on 12 Oct 2024 20:55 collapse

Like speeding tickets.

As a rich person you are fine to endanger the rest of the people on the road for a small fee. As a company it is fine to violate laws and rights of people for a small fee.

It’s cool as long as the government gets their cut!

vaionko@sopuli.xyz on 14 Oct 2024 13:12 collapse

Income based fines need to become the standard everywhere. Like here in Finland a businessman got fined 121000€ for going 30km/h over the speed limit.

johnnybravo@lemm.ee on 12 Oct 2024 15:52 next collapse

Another reason to ban it altogether.

toynbee@lemmy.world on 12 Oct 2024 16:33 next collapse

I wish I could just “set aside” a billion dollars.

Teknikal@eviltoast.org on 12 Oct 2024 22:31 next collapse

I’ve a feeling we’re ry going to regret all this anti Chinese nonsense in the future, I think Google etc have already sealed their ultimate fates.

The Huawei thing might well go down as one of the worst mistakes in history.

For anyone wondering I’m UK not Chinese completely white from Belfast.

MaggiWuerze@feddit.org on 13 Oct 2024 00:38 next collapse

The only thing we’re going to regret, in fact already are, is sucking up to them for the last decades, while allowing them to steal every bit of manufacturing know how we had for some cheap labor

MajorSauce@sh.itjust.works on 13 Oct 2024 05:00 collapse

Economic “principles” pushed manufacturing their way, they just played the game and played it well.

ravhall@discuss.online on 13 Oct 2024 01:16 collapse

Said no one ever.

Cossty@lemmy.world on 13 Oct 2024 07:20 collapse

When are we finally moving to a percentage based fines?

pufferfisherpowder@lemmy.world on 13 Oct 2024 20:26 collapse

It’s literally in the last paragraph of the summary. You didn’t even have to click the article. The EU can fine up to 6% of the global revenue.