TikTok has decided to pay a £12.7 million fine imposed by the UK’s data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), effectively ending its legal appeal. The penalty stems from a 2023 investigation which concluded that the social media platform failed to implement sufficient safeguards to prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing the service.

Regulators found that TikTok’s internal processes for verifying user age were inadequate, leading to an estimated 1.75 million children under the age of 13 using the platform in the UK. At the time the fine was originally issued, the ICO stated that the company had done "very little, if anything" to address the presence of underage users on its app. While TikTok maintains a minimum age requirement of 13, the ICO determined that the company’s enforcement of this policy was insufficient to protect younger users. By dropping the appeal, TikTok has signaled its intent to resolve the matter and comply with the regulatory findings regarding its data handling and safety practices for minors.