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On TikTok, the “Choking Challenge”, a new challenge that consists of holding your breath for as long as possible, is going viral. Far from the funny or superficial videos that can usually be found on the French social network, this challenge has caused the death of very young users.
The “Choking Challenge” is the recent controversy over the TikTok app. Also known as the “Blackout Challenge”, this practice involves holding your breath for as long as possible, until you pass out. This challenge is obviously extremely dangerous, as many experts remind us. It causes fainting, brain damage, seizures, lifelong disabilities, and even death.
Several deaths in young children
The “Chocking Challenge” (also called “Blackout Challenge”) did not wait for the arrival of social networks to exist. This kind of “game” has been talked about for several decades, under different names, including that of the “scarf game”. It would be responsible for at least 82 deaths of American children and adolescents (6 to 19 years old) between 1995 and 2007, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The latest victim: Milagros Soto, a 12-year-old Argentinian girl, found dead at home after participating in the challenge. Last summer the DailyMail reported that two young Britons, 14-year-old Leon Brown and 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, had also lost their lives to the same viral trend. The parents of the young boys had filed a complaint against TikTok, which they consider responsible for inciting their children to a dangerous practice.
TikTok’s fault?
In 2021, two American families had already filed a complaint against TikTok after the death of their 8 and 9 year old daughters, who they say were victims of the “blackout challenge”. In their complaint, reported by the media The Independentparents denounce the ability of the algorithm to present content that is dangerous, harmful or even fatal for young children.
Over the years, the use of the application among young people has been the subject of much debate. By constantly renewing content through algorithms, users are likely to come across inappropriate or even upsetting content. But the application is not the only one in the case. According to one study of Nord VPN on adapting to new technologies among 10-17 year olds, 3 out of 5 young people come across pornographic content, 34% of them on social networks.
Attempts to limit searches for videos of these kinds of challenges have been made by TikTok, although they always seem to play on the app without further restrictions or end up on other, less visible platforms.
Morbid and dangerous challenges
A spokesperson for TikTok’s app told the outlet 7news that the hashtag dedicated to this challenge has been banned on the platform for some time. “This means that when someone searches for them, they receive a message that directs them to our security center“.
This will not be the first time that the application advocates dangerous challenges. In 2022, a trend was simply encouraging users… to commit suicide. The principle: cut his lip balm into pieces, over his annoyances, while filming himself. When the tube is finished, the person concerned must mutilate himself or end his life. Even if no death has been recorded for the moment, the French Ministry of the Interior had launched a message of prevention on Twitter.