Italy Slaps Tiktok With $10M Fine Over Child Safety Concerns Amid Looming US Ban

As TikTok faces a ban in the U.S., the social media giant is slapped with a significant penalty in Italy for its content moderation practices, particularly concerning the safety of minors on the platform.

What Happened: The Italian Competition Authority, AGCM, has fined three TikTok units a total of €10 million ($10.94 million). The fine targets TikTok’s failure to effectively police content that may be harmful to minors or vulnerable users.

The social media giant, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been grouped with other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms in facing intense scrutiny to safeguard underage users. AGCM rebuked TikTok for not implementing adequate measures to prevent the spread of dangerous content and for not living up to its safety protocols, thus deceiving consumers about the platform’s security.

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AGCM specifically called out the “French scar” challenge circulating on TikTok, which involves self-inflicted bruising and poses a threat to minors. Italy’s communications watchdog, AGCOM, had already demanded the removal of such content from TikTok last month. The authority also criticized TikTok’s user profiling algorithms for potentially manipulating users to spend more time on the app.

Why It Matters: The fine in Italy comes at a time when TikTok is under intense legislative scrutiny in the United States. Just a day before the Italian fine was reported, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that could mandate the sale of TikTok by ByteDance or lead to a ban in the U.S., affecting an estimated 150 million American users.

Furthermore, TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew warned of severe repercussions if the ban goes through. Chew highlighted the potential loss of “billions of dollars” for creators and over 300,000 American jobs at risk. The bill is now headed to the Senate, and if enacted, could force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban in the U.S.

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AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File