TikTok: Venezuela fines millions and demands better protection of minors
Following further allegations that TikTok was responsible for the deaths of children who took part in a challenge, Venezuela imposes a fine of millions.
The short video app TikTok.
(Image: dpa, Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa)
Venezuela's highest court imposed a fine of 10 million US dollars on the social media platform TikTok on Monday. This was reported by the Associated Press news agency, among others. The accusation is that the company failed to take action against viral videos that led to the deaths of three Venezuelan children.
According to the report, Judge Tania D'Amelio accused TikTok of negligence and allowed the company eight days to pay the fine. In addition, she ordered TikTok to open an office in Venezuela to monitor content and ensure that the platform complies with local laws.
However, the judge did not explain how Venezuela intends to force TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in China, to pay the fine. Recently, Venezuela has blocked dozens of websites because they did not comply with national telecommunications regulations. So far, TikTok has not responded to requests, according to various media reports.
In November, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro blamed TikTok for the death of a twelve-year-old girl who allegedly died after taking part in a TikTok challenge. According to media reports, the challenge required the girl to take anti-anxiety medication, among other things.
Venezuelan Education Minister Hector Rodriguez also reported last month that a 14-year-old boy had also died after taking part in a similar TikTok challenge. On November 21, the Venezuelan Attorney General also blamed TikTok for the death of a third child as a result of a challenge.
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Blackout challenge
TikTok, like other large platforms, has been criticized for years for not moderating content sufficiently. It was only in April that it became known that there were indications that a girl from Hesse may have died after taking part in the Blackout Challenge. In the challenge, children strangle themselves until they faint and film it. Years ago, families in the USA complained after their children took part in a blackout challenge and died as a result.
More and more countries are planning to ban services such as TikTok for young people, and this is also being discussed in Germany. According to Tagesschau, Albania recently banned TikTok for a year because young people had used the platform to arrange a fatal stabbing.
(mack)
