TikTok could be slammed with a 27 million-pound ($29 million) fine in the U.K. over a possible breach of U.K. data protection law by not protecting children’s privacy when they are using the platform.

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office said recently that it has issued TikTok a legal document that precedes a potential fine. According to the office, TikTok may have processed the data of children below 13 without proper parental consent and processed “special category data” without legal grounds.

The commissioner said “special category data” included ethnic and racial origin, political opinions, religious beliefs and sexual orientation.

Also, it said TikTok may have failed to release transparent, easily understood information to its users. The legal document covered the period between May 2018 and July 2020.

Information Commissioner John Edwards said the body’s provisional view was that TikTok “fell short” of providing proper data privacy protections. The body disclosed that its findings are not final and it would consider any representations from TikTok before taking a final decision.

A statement released by TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance said: “While we respect the ICO’s role in safeguarding privacy in the U.K., we disagree with the preliminary views expressed and intend to formally respond to the ICO.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office revealed that it is investigating six companies that do not appear to have taken their responsibilities around child safety seriously enough.

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