Overview

• TikTok was fined €530 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission for transferring European user data to China without adequate safeguards and for transparency failures.
• The penalty includes €485 million for unlawful data transfers and €45 million for failing to inform users about cross-border data handling between 2020 and 2022.
• The DPC found TikTok did not ensure EU-level protections for data accessed by staff in China, citing risks posed by Chinese surveillance laws.
• TikTok disclosed in February 2025 that limited European user data had been stored in China, contradicting earlier claims; the data has since been deleted.
• TikTok plans to appeal the ruling, arguing its €12 billion Project Clover and other safeguards were not fully considered by regulators.