TikTok has been given 10 days to pay up $10,000,000 after three people died following dangerous challenges.
The social media app has been fined a whopping $10 million by Venezuela’s top court.
This is after challenges that had gone viral on TikTok led to the deaths of three children.
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Dozens of people were also injured during the trend on the platform.
TikTok officials were summoned to appear in the court in November 2024 to address the deaths that were caused by the challenges.
The children in question were aged 12, 13 and 14, when they died taking part in the viral trend.
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According to Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, the challenges included doing dangerous things such as ingesting, spreading and inhaling ‘dangerous mixes’ of chemicals.
Now, a court has ruled that TikTok should pay a fine of $10 million to the Venezuelan telecommunications agency and they have just 10 days to comply.
The court also ordered the app to set up an office in the country in order to supervise content to make sure that it complies with the local laws.
Judges overseeing the case have said that the money paid will go towards a compensation fund set up for the victims.
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They also said that TikTok shared responsibility for its ‘lack of timely control’ when it came to the challenges shared on the platform and for ‘not implementing measures’ in order to prevent it from happening.
Judge Tania D’Amelio said that the social media firm had acted in a negligent manner.
While it is not yet clear just how Venezuela will enforce the fine against TikTok, whose parent company behind the app is based in China, the country is known for blocking apps and websites that refuse to comply with their regulations.
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Maduro has been vocal about his stance on social media apps including TikTok and WhatsApp.
Earlier in the year, he urged people to delete WhatsApp from their phones, claiming that it is used by ‘fascists’ to spread violence.
In August, the government banned X, formerly Twitter, after the president accused Elon Musk of using the platform to ‘orchestrate attacks against Venezuela’.
This was after Musk had claimed that Maduro had rigged his election win in July.
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It is still currently blocked in the country by their state owned internet provider, Movilnet, but residents can still access X using privately run providers.
UNILAD Tech has contacted TikTok for a comment.