TikTok fined $10 million over deadly challenges on its platform 

A Venezuelan Court has imposed a $10 million fine on TikTok following viral challenges that led to the deaths of three children and injured dozens in recent months.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, the court mandated TikTok to pay the fine to the nation’s telecommunications agency within 10 days.

Additionally, the social media platform was instructed to establish a formal office in Venezuela.

The court’s decision follows the deaths of three children, aged 12, 13, and 14, who participated in TikTok challenges involving the ingestion, inhalation, and application of hazardous chemical mixtures.

This development comes amidst heightened scrutiny of social media platforms in Venezuela. President Maduro has intensified his criticism of platforms like TikTok and WhatsApp, accusing them of facilitating harmful activities.

Earlier this year, Maduro urged his supporters to delete WhatsApp, labeling it a tool used by “fascists” to incite violence.

This incident adds to a growing list of controversies surrounding TikTok, as governments worldwide grapple with how to regulate the platform’s influence on users, especially minors.

In the U.S. the Bytedance-owned TikTok is currently facing a sell or get banned situation in a country where it has over 170 million users.

Its ordeal stems from a declaration  by FBI Director, Chris Wray, that  TikTok poses a national security risk, adding that Chinese companies are required to essentially “do whatever the Chinese government wants them to in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government.”

Members of Congress have also complained the Chinese government has a “golden share” in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok.

TikTok has said “an entity affiliated with the Chinese government owns 1% of a ByteDance subsidiary, Douyin Information Service,” and says the holding “has no bearing on ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok.”