Italy antitrust regulator fines TikTok $11 million over inadequate checks on harmful content

Italy's antitrust regulator said on Thursday it has fined three TikTok units 10 million euros ($10.94 million) in total for not checking adequately content on its platform. "TikTok has not taken adequate measures to prevent the spreading of such content, and has not fully complied with the guidelines it has adopted, reassuring customers that the platform is a 'safe' space," the watchdog said in a statement.

It added that certain content by TikTok, specifically so-called challenges, could put at risk minors or vulnerable people.

TikTok was not immediately available for comment. In other news, A group of 20 tech companies announced they have agreed to work together to prevent deceptive artificial-intelligence content from interfering with elections across the globe this year.

The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which can create text, images and video in seconds in response to prompts, has heightened fears that the new technology could be used to sway major elections this year, as more than half of the world's population is set to head to the polls.

Signatories of the tech accord, which was announced at the Munich Security Conference, include companies that are building generative AI models used to create content, including OpenAI, Microsoft and Adobe. Other signatories include social media platforms that will face the challenge of keeping harmful content off their sites, such as Meta Platforms, TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter.