TikTok will pay a £12.7m fine after withdrawing its appeal against a UK ruling that it failed to prevent children under 13 from using the platform. The Information Commissioner’s Office said the company’s age checks were inadequate, it did not remove known underage users and failed to explain data practices or obtain parental consent.

The ICO estimated that up to 1.75 million UK children under 13 used TikTok in 2020, when the breaches occurred. TikTok still disputes the ruling but said it would pay, citing measures introduced since then; it has also withdrawn an appeal over an investigation into how its algorithm handles teenagers’ data. The case comes as stricter UK social-media age limits are due to take effect next year.