The Italian knowledge privateness watchdog ordered video app TikTok on Friday to dam the accounts of any customers in Italy whose age it couldn’t confirm following the demise of a 10-year-old woman who had been utilizing the Chinese language-owned app.
In a press release, the regulator mentioned that though TikTok had dedicated to ban registration for kids aged beneath 13, it was nonetheless straightforward to bypass this rule.
In consequence, it mentioned TikTok needed to block unverified person accounts till a minimum of February 15 awaiting additional info.
There was no speedy response from TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance and has been quickly rising in reputation all over the world, notably amongst youngsters.
The ruling got here after a woman died of asphyxiation in Palermo, Sicily, in a case that has shocked Italy.
Her mother and father mentioned she had been taking part in a so-called blackout problem on TikTok, placing a belt round her neck and holding her bre ath whereas recording herself on her telephone.
Prosecutors have opened an investigation into doable incitement to suicide and need to see whether or not somebody invited her to participate within the problem.
“The watchdog determined to intervene as a matter of urgency following the horrible case of the 10-year-old woman from Palermo,” the authority mentioned.
It mentioned TikTok was banned from “additional processing person knowledge for which there isn’t a absolute certainty of age and, consequently, of compliance with the provisions associated to the age requirement”.
An official mentioned this meant that customers of unverified accounts would now not be capable of add movies or work together with different folks on the platform.
The watchdog mentioned it had raised considerations with TikTok in December over what it referred to as a collection of violations, together with allegations the agency had failed to guard minors.
It added that it had informed the authorities in Eire about its determination as a result of TikTok has introduced that it might run its European operations out of Dublin.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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