The First-tier Tribunal has issued its decision in TikTok Inc & Anor v Information Commissioner [2025] UKFTT 798 (GRC) on the preliminary issue raised by TikTok in its appeal against the £12.7m fine issued by the ICO in April 2023. The decision follows a hearing that took place from 19 to 21 May 2025.
The Tribunal’s decision confirms the Information Commissioner had the power to issue a Monetary Penalty Notice (MPN) to TikTok and the case can now proceed to a full hearing on the substantive issues raised in TikTok’s appeal.
In the MPN the Information Commissioner found TikTok had infringed Articles 8, 12, 13 and 5(1)(a) of the UK GDPR. In response TikTok argued that its processing was for artistic purposes, so the “special purposes” provisions applied. These provisions place additional restrictions on the ICO’s enforcement action where personal information is being processed for journalistic, artistic, academic or literary purposes. They are referred to in the legislation as the “special purposes”. TikTok contended the ICO had issued the MPN without legal authority and the MPN should therefore be quashed.
The Tribunal found in the Commissioner’s favour after it concluded the MPN was primarily concerned with the processing of personal information of under 13-year old children and such processing was not for the “special purposes”.
