Italy's watchdog warns TikTok about alleged breach of EU privacy rules

Italy's data protection authority has formally warned Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok about an alleged breach of existing EU rules to safeguard users' privacy, the watchdog said on Monday.

TikTok, which has seen rapid growth worldwide particularly among teenagers, had told users in recent weeks that it was going to deliver targeted advertising to them but had not requested consent for using data stored in their devices, the Italian watchdog said.

A spokesperson for TikTok in Italy had no immediate comment.

The Italian authorities said they were also concerned that inappropriate advertising could be directed at minors given the problems that TikTok has faced in accurately monitoring the ages of its users.