Italy probes TikTok ‘blackout challenge’ death of 10-year-old girl

Rome - Medical experts have warned about the danger of the challenge being taken up by some youngsters, who refer to it as “scarfing” or “the choking game”

Italian prosecutors have opened a probe into the accidental death of a 10-year-old girl who allegedly took part in a “blackout challenge” on the video-sharing network TikTok.

The girl died in a Palermo hospital after being discovered Wednesday by her five-year-old sister in her family bathroom with her cellphone, which was seized by police.

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said Friday it had not managed to identify any content on its site that could have encouraged the girl to participate in any such challenge, but was helping the authorities in the probe over possible “incitement to suicide”.

“The safety of the TikTok community is our absolute priority. For this motive, we do not allow any content that encourages, promotes or glorifies behaviour that could be dangerous,” a TikTok spokesman said.

Medical experts have warned about the danger of the challenge being taken up by some young people, who refer to it as “scarfing” or “the choking game” in which restricted oxygen to the brain results in a high.

The girls’ parents told La Repubblica newspaper that another daughter explained that her sister “was playing the blackout game”.

“Social networks can’t become a jungle where anything is allowed,” said Licia Ronzulli, president of Italy’s parliamentary commission on child protection.