The European Union has fined TikTok a record $600 million for sending user data to China without proper protection. The Irish Data Protection Commission issued the penalty under the EU’s GDPR laws on May 1, 2025. Most of the fine—$551 million—was for failing to safeguard user data. The rest targeted TikTok’s unclear privacy policies, which did not fully explain why data was being transferred. This is now the largest fine ever given under GDPR rules. TikTok is also under pressure in the U.S., where it faces a legal order to separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Meanwhile, the EU has given TikTok six months to fix its data practices or risk a full ban on transferring European user data. TikTok denied the allegations, saying it never gave user data to Chinese authorities. However, it warned that this decision could impact global tech companies in the future.