The Italian regulator launched an investigation into TikTok last March.
The Italian antitrust regulator has fined TikTok roughly $10.94 million for failing to protect children and vulnerable people from harmful content on the popular video-sharing application.
In a statement published on Thursday, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) said the firm has not implemented “appropriate mechanisms to monitor content published on the platform, particularly those that may threaten the safety of minors and vulnerable individuals.”
The Italian regulator launched an investigation into TikTok last March, saying that numerous videos on its platform showed young people adopting self-harming behavior, particularly content related to a trend called “French scar.” The TikTok challenge, which became viral in Italy last year, involves the act of continuously and violently squeezing the skin of one’s cheeks until causes lasting bruises on the cheekbones.
The authority said on Thursday its probe had verified TikTok’s responsibility in spreading content “likely to threaten the psycho-physical safety” of users, including videos related to the “French Scar” challenge.
TikTok said it disagrees with the Italian regulator’s decision. “There were only on average 100 daily searches in Italy for so-called ‘French Scar’ content before the AGCM announced its investigation last year,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.
TikTok was ordered in February to remove content related to the viral challenge from its application, according to a ruling issued by a separate top watchdog in Italy, the Communications Guarantee Authority.
The competition authority said Thursday that “potentially dangerous content” was circulated through TikTok’s profiling algorithms, which could automatically select videos to match users’ interests. Its purpose, the regulator added, was to increase the time people spend on the app and drive user engagement to boost advertising revenue
“TikTok has not taken adequate measures to prevent the spreading of such content, and has not fully complied with the guidelines it has adopted, reassuring customers that the platform is a ’safe’ space.”
The penalties were imposed on three divisions of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, namely the Irish TikTok Technology Limited, the British TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited, and the Italian TikTok Italy Srl.
