Italy awarded TikTok 10 million EUR fine for failure to ensure the protection of minors

“The company has not implemented adequate monitoring mechanisms for the content published on the platform, especially that which may threaten the safety of minors and vulnerable persons,” according to a statement issued by the AGCM.

“Furthermore, this content is systematically re-suggested to users due to their algorithmic profiling, thereby encouraging increased use of the social network,” it states.

The fine is aimed at three divisions of the Chinese group Bytedance – Ireland’s TikTok Technology, United Kingdom’s TikTok Information Technologies and Italy’s TikTok Italy.

According to the AGCM, TikTok did not fully follow the guidelines that should ensure a safe space for users.

“Indeed, the guidelines do not adequately address the particular vulnerability of adolescents, who have specific cognitive mechanisms that make it difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction, for example, and tend to imitate group behavior,” the AGCM said in a statement.

It adds that the TikTok app often recommends potentially dangerous content.

AGCM noted a common challenge on TikTok where children squeeze their cheeks hard to cause bruises. This challenge, detailed by many TikTok users, has raised concerns in the education and healthcare sectors.

In a statement, TikTok said it disagreed with the Italian watchdog’s decision.

“Before the AGCM announced its investigation last year, so-called ‘French rand’ content was searched on average only 100 times a day in Italy,” she said.

“For a long time, we restricted the visibility of this content to people under 18 and did not allow it to be included in the ‘For You’ section,” the company explained.

TikTok has exploded in popularity around the world, but the app, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has been a major headache for governments and security officials over its ownership and possible service to the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok categorically denies any ties to the Chinese government.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would have forced TikTok to split from its parent company or face a nationwide ban.