“You are not alone.” This is the message that appears on TikTok when you type “choking game” in the search bar. This is the well-known challenge that has been circulating on multiple platforms for a number of years and has led to death Argentina of the 12 year old Milagros Soto. She died live on TikTok in front of users, including some classmates, while performing the challenge in question, which encourages children to catch their breath with one carrying strap until I lose consciousness and pass out. The teenager’s body was found by the father in the house where they lived in the city Captain Bermudezin the province santa fe. The death dates back to January 13 last year. The young woman’s aunt reported that Milagros suffered as a result bullying and that he accepted the challenge because he wanted to win the approval of his classmates. The aunt explained that the 12-year-old had received a Whatsapp message with the link to the challenge. “We have many doubts about everything that happened – he added -. She was a very intelligent girl. But I think someone encouraged her to do it.” News of the 12-year-old’s death was covered by most of the Italian media, highlighting the spread of the challenge in question. In fact, TikTok Italia told Open that there is no evidence that the choking game is a trend on the platform.
What is chocking game
The choking game, also known as the blackout challenge or the suffocation, is a challenge that has been around for a long time and has survived the birth of new social networks over the years. The challenge encourages children to let themselves go fainting make use ofhyperventilation, tying a noose or rope around his neck until he passes out. The scene must then be filmed and broadcast on social media. The 12-year-old’s case is not the first death from this challenge. There was already one death in Italy in 2018, a Tivoliwhere a 14 years old He had a PlayStation cable around his neck for the challenge and was found unconscious by his father.
TikTok’s special policy
At that time, the Postal Police intervened and took steps to block content related to the challenge youtube and on other social networks to avoid new ones emulations. A management of the problem that took place ex post and was very different from the case of this 12-year-old from Argentina. If you try to search for content related to the choking game on TikTok, the platform comes up with a message: “There are always help tools available if you or someone you know is going through a difficult time.” So does the platform invites users to contact the blue phone Orally Friendly phone and has created a page where he gives some advice on how to deal with a possible invitation to a dangerous challenge. “It’s not an intervention that we made after the 12-year-old’s death, but even months ago if the same content had been searched for, the help banner would have come out,” a spokesman for TikTok Italia explains openly. “We also have no evidence that the choking game is now a trend.”
What the platform is doing to protect users
«We have a constantly updated structure that works in the Prevention of the distribution of harmful content for users,” explains the platform spokesman. TikTok is actually taking on a number of algorithms aimed at preventing by default the possibility of finding harmful content such as B. the choking game. Where the technology is lacking, the team that works in this area 24 hours a day takes over. «The verification steps performed on the videos are different – reports TikTok Italia. But sometimes the mistake happens and something gets out of the platform’s control». In this battle to protect users, the latter also play a central role: where content escapes the platform, users who intercept it can (and should) report it.
TIKTOK / TikTok screenshot when you type Chocking game in the search bar, January 18, 2023
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