TikTok Fined $10M in Response to Child Deaths from Viral Trends

The Supreme Court of Venezuela fined him Tik Tok $10 million, accusing it of failing to control the spread of viral challenges that allegedly led to the death of three children.

Judge Tania D’Amelio said on Monday that the company has eight days to pay the fine to the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), and that the money will be used to create a special fund to “compensate victims of viral challenges.”

The video platform also called for the establishment of an office in the country to represent itself.

CNN has reached out to TikTok for comment.

D’Amelio said three young men died and many others were affected by the challenges, but he did not provide details or point to a specific case.

The court ruling, read out by D’Amelio, said TikTok had not implemented “necessary and sufficient measures to prevent the publication of posts whose content refers to so-called viral challenges, which violate Venezuela’s legal system.”

This decision comes after the educational organization “Bolivarian Movement of Families Aristobolo Histores” submitted a call for protection, arguing, according to D’Amelio, that the viral challenges affect minors psychologically.

The court granted the request for protection after Maduro in November demanded that TikTok remove content related to viral challenges.

The Venezuelan government has previously issued restrictions on social media platforms.