Upholding the First-tier Tribunal’s determination of a preliminary issue but for additional reasons, the Upper Tribunal has confirmed that a £12.7m Monetary Penalty Notice imposed on TikTok for the processing of underage users’ data and defective privacy notices was not made with respect to the processing of personal data for the “special purposes”. The Information Commissioner was therefore acting within his powers when he issued the penalty without first going through the procedural steps set out in section 156 of the Data Protection Act 2018. The decision can be accessed here IN THE UPPER TRIBUNAL, and a full case report will follow. Unless there is a further appeal, the case will now return to the FTT for consideration of TikTok’s substantive challenge to the MPN.
Aidan Eardley KC acted for TikTok with Anya Proops KC and Zac Sammour, instructed by Bristows LLP
