TikTok has been severely criticized in Italy for the death of a 10-year-old girl who died of asphyxiation because of a “coma challenge” game, according to a report by German newspaper Die Welt on 24 April.
Italian regulators demanded that TikTok immediately block all accounts where the user’s age could not be determined on Friday night.
The incident has sparked great concern in Europe and the United States.
The incident occurred in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, Italy, where 10-year-old Antonella locked herself in the bathroom on Wednesday and took a selfie with a bathrobe strap tight around her neck.
When her sister found her, she was unconscious. Family members immediately rushed her to a local hospital.
After several hours of treatment, doctors had to declare her brain dead.
The death of the 10-year-old girl sparked a big debate in Italy. Palermo’s mayor, Orlando, said the whole city was in “shock”.
Justice and minors’ protection agencies are investigating.
Medical experts are also warning about the dangerous challenges some young people are taking part in.
Experts also advise that young people under 12 should not play alone on their phones.
In fact, this is not the first time that online games have sparked criticism.
German media reported that a “tripping challenge” was popular on social media in the first half of 2020.
The rules of this game are: users are invited to participate in a game where three people jump up in place at the same time, and then filmed in slow motion to compare who jumped the highest; however, the real situation is that the left and right sides will take advantage of your jump and kick you from below, successfully tripping you to the ground.
It is claimed that several teenagers around the world have been killed or injured by playing this game.
