In London, Italy’s competition authority has imposed a €10 million ($11 million) fine on TikTok. The reason? The platform did not effectively prevent the spread of harmful content, endangering minors and other vulnerable users.
The antitrust agency, AGCM, highlighted on Thursday that TikTok, a ByteDance-owned company from China, overlooked the particular risks faced by young users. These include their propensity to mimic group behaviors, which can be harmful.
Last March, the AGCM initiated a probe into how TikTok moderates its content. The investigation aimed to understand the platform’s efforts in controlling inappropriate material.
On Thursday, the agency released a statement criticizing TikTok. It stated that the platform hadn’t implemented sufficient measures to curb the dissemination of harmful content. Furthermore, its algorithms could potentially keep showing such content to users.
One disturbing trend noted by the AGCM is the “French scar” challenge. This involved users pinching their cheeks to create a lasting bruise, a clear example of the kind of harmful content that concerned the agency.
In response, a TikTok spokesperson expressed disagreement with the AGCM’s ruling. They mentioned that the “French scar” content had minimal daily searches in Italy before the AGCM’s announcement last year. TikTok had already limited the visibility of such content to users under 18.
TikTok has been under scrutiny by European regulators for a while, facing fines amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. The Irish Data Protection Commission, overseeing TikTok’s operations across the European Union, fined the platform €345 million ($376 million) in September. The fine was for failing to safeguard children’s privacy, as newly created profiles for minors were public by default.
Last month, the EU initiated a formal investigation into TikTok. The probe aims to determine if the platform’s age verification tools are adequate in preventing children from accessing inappropriate content.
This week has been particularly challenging for TikTok. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to the platform’s ban in the country. The proposed legislation would require TikTok to be sold to a US company to continue operating in the US, as it’s used by roughly 170 million Americans.
Supporters of the bill argue that TikTok poses a national security risk. They fear the Chinese government could force ByteDance to surrender data on US users.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, criticized the potential ban as an act of bullying.
In Europe, another Chinese-owned platform, AliExpress, is facing scrutiny. On Thursday, the EU’s executive arm announced a formal investigation into the online marketplace owned by Alibaba (BABA). The probe will examine whether AliExpress has violated various EU regulations, including those concerning the spread of illegal content, minors’ access to pornographic materials, and the sale of counterfeit food and medications.
Angelica Chiara Yazbeck contributed to this report.