By AFP | 2025-01-03

CARACAS -- Venezuela's highest court December 30 fined TikTok $10 million in connection with viral challenges that authorities say left three adolescents dead from intoxication by chemical substances.

Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) judge Tania D'Amelio said that the popular video-sharing app had been negligent in failing to implement "necessary and adequate measures" to stop the spread of content encouraging the challenges.

China's ByteDance owns TikTok, which Caracas ordered to open an office in Venezuela and gave eight days to pay the fine or face "appropriate" measures.

Venezuela would use the money to "create a TikTok victims' fund, intended to compensate for the psychological, emotional and physical damages to users, especially if these users are children and adolescents," D'Amelio said.

The company told the court that it "understands the seriousness of the matter," she said.

Deadly challenges

According to Venezuelan authorities, three adolescents died and 200 were intoxicated in schools across the country after ingesting chemical substances as part of social media "challenges."

TikTok's huge global success has been partly built on the success of its challenges -- a call that invites users to create videos featuring dances, jokes or games that sometimes go viral.

The app has been accused of putting users in danger with the spread of hazardous challenge videos.

In November, dictator Nicolas Maduro threatened "severe measures" against TikTok if it did not remove content related to what he called "criminal challenges."

Parliament is considering laws regulating social networks, which Maduro said after his disputed reelection in July were being used to promote "hate," "fascism" and "division."