On March 14, 2024, the Italian Competition Authority (the Authority) imposed a fine of €10 million jointly and severally on three companies, TikTok Technology Limited (located in Ireland), TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited (located in Britain), and TikTok Italy Srl (located in Italy) for failure to monitor content published to users because of the application's user profiling algorithm. The companies are a part of Bytedance Ltd group. 

The Authority stated that after an investigation, it was determined the companies are responsible for disseminating content on the TikTok app that is likely to threaten both the psychological and physical safety of users on the platform.  The Authority stated that this is especially a concern for minors and other vulnerable individuals who use the TikTok app.  

The Authority also mentioned that the companies have failed to take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of harmful content and have not complied with its adopted guidelines. Regarding those guidelines, the Authority stated that the vulnerability of minors on the platform was not considered. Finally, the Authority highlighted that the user profiling algorithm on the TikTok app causes users to be conditioned to increase time on the platform by selecting videos targeted to the user. As a result of the algorithm, the Authority stated that harmful content is constantly proposed to users. 

You can read the press release, only available in Italian, here.