Brazil Fines TikTok Owner R$153.7 Million Over Children’s Data
Brazil’s data-protection regulator fined TikTok parent ByteDance R$153.7 million after finding violations involving the personal data of children and teenagers. The sanction includes deleting data the regulator says was collected improperly and a compliance plan requiring changes to privacy and safety features in Brazil.
The Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados, or ANPD, published the sanction on August 25, 2026, after notifying ByteDance on August 24. ByteDance may appeal to the agency’s Board within 10 business days of notification. That appeal right does not by itself mean the sanction has been suspended.
What Brazil’s regulator found
The administrative proceeding covered two ways people use TikTok: a feed for registered users and a feed available to people browsing without an account. The ANPD said TikTok processed children’s and teenagers’ personal data in both experiences without an adequate legal basis under Brazil’s data-protection law.
The regulator also said TikTok lacked effective measures to prevent underage processing in the no-account experience and underage registration in the account-based experience. The agency’s findings are administrative conclusions from its proceeding, not a criminal judgment.
The ANPD said the sanction addresses past conduct during the period examined. Separately, ByteDance committed to a forward-looking compliance plan that the agency’s Board approved with requirements concerning privacy defaults, parental oversight, content filtering and logged-out access.
What could change for users under 16
For accounts belonging to users younger than 16, the plan requires TikTok to apply its most restrictive privacy settings by default. Changes to those settings would require authorization from a parent or guardian.
The plan also requires stronger parental supervision and more rigorous content filters. These changes are intended to give parents greater control over young users’ activity and reduce exposure to material or features the regulator considers unsuitable.
The ANPD announcement describes the measures as compliance-plan requirements; it does not establish that every change took effect immediately on the publication date. Implementation and any appeal proceedings will affect the timing in practice.
Guest browsing faces tighter limits
The order is notable because it addresses people who use TikTok without creating an account. Under the compliance plan, the logged-out experience in Brazil is limited to 12 hours and will not carry advertising.
The no-account feed is also limited to content appropriate for all ages, with much less personalization and reduced data collection. Users in that experience cannot create content, comment, send direct messages, follow or be followed by other users, or post or watch live broadcasts.
The plan allows only limited data processing for purposes such as language and regional relevance, fraud protection and application performance. That means a person may still be able to view a restricted feed without registering, but the experience would be substantially less social and less personalized.
Why the decision matters
For parents and young users in Brazil, the immediate practical issue is whether TikTok’s defaults, controls and filters become more restrictive as the plan is implemented. For people who browse without an account, the main changes would be the removal of advertising and social features, a shorter access window and less data-driven personalization.
The case also shows why regulators are examining guest browsing rather than focusing only on children who have registered profiles. A minor can view or interact with a platform without opening an account, and the ANPD’s findings treat the collection and use of data in that setting as part of the child-protection question.
What happens next
ByteDance’s 10-business-day appeal period began after the August 24 notification. The next practical questions are whether the company challenges the decision, how the ANPD handles any appeal and when TikTok completes the required changes in Brazil.
A separate ANPD requirement gives covered platforms until September 17, 2026, to publish their first transparency reports under Brazil’s Digital Child and Adolescent Statute. The requirement applies to platforms directed to or likely to be accessed by children and teenagers that have more than 1 million registered users under 18. The reports are intended to disclose measures involving child accounts, privacy, parental consent, moderation, risk assessments and complaint channels.
For Brazilian families, the sanction could mean stricter privacy defaults, stronger parental controls and a more limited TikTok experience for people who browse without an account. The appeal process and the September 17 transparency deadline are the next dates to watch.
Sources
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