Venezuelan Supreme Court Judge Tanya D'Amelio fined the social media platform TikTok $10 million after three children died from inhaling chemical substances during a viral challenge. The judge stated that many young people in Venezuela were harmed by the viral challenges invented by TikTok users. TikTok has been ordered to pay the fine within eight days to the National Communication Commission. The funds will be used to create a special fund to compensate the victims of the viral challenges.
President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela said in November that at least two children died after participating in challenges that involved inhaling toxic substances or taking anxiety medications without falling asleep.
''TikTok failed to implement necessary and appropriate measures to prevent the dissemination of content implying so-called viral challenges, which violate Venezuela's legal system. Venezuela will use the money to create a 'TikTok victims fund' to compensate for the psychological, emotional, and physical damage to users, especially if those users are children and adolescents,'' said Judge D'Amelio.
In the U.S., the TikTok app is set to be banned in mid-January after the court upheld the Justice Department's claims that the app poses a security risk as it is owned by the Chinese parent company ByteDance, which could potentially use it for espionage.