TikTok was fined ten million dollars for its “negligence” in policing online challenges, after the death of three Venezuelan teenagers who took on a dangerous challenge left circulating on the Chinese platform.
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The Supreme Court of Venezuela ordered TikTok to make the payment within the next eight days “taking into account its negligence, by not having implemented the necessary and appropriate measures to prevent the dissemination of publications evoking viral challenges” , said Judge Tania D’Amelio.
On November 21, the Supreme Court agreed to examine this case, after the death of three teenagers and the poisoning of 200 others in several schools in the country, after inhaling chemical substances promoted as part of viral challenges.
“With the fine imposed, the Venezuelan State will create a fund for the victims of TikTok, intended to compensate the psychological, emotional and physical damage caused to users, especially if they are children and adolescents,” added the judge .
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro spoke at the end of November of summoning representatives of TikTok to court after the death of these three young people who carried out these dangerous challenges.
TikTok is in the crosshairs of several countries, such as in the United States, where it has more than 170 million users. The authorities suspect the application of spying on Americans, collecting personal information, but also of serving Chinese propaganda. TikTok refutes these accusations.
Under a law signed this year, TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, must divest from the popular app by January or face a ban in the United States. But President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office in January, opposes it, saying it would only favor Instagram and Facebook.
In early November, Canada ordered the liquidation of TikTok’s Canadian arm, citing “specific risks to national security,” but without banning access and use of the app in the country.
Brazil, for its part, ordered TikTok to take measures to protect the personal data of minors, raising the possibility of sanctions.
