'TikTok Trend "Fainting Game" Leads to Death... Italy Blocks Children from Access'

The short video sharing service 'TikTok' is seeing the 'Blackout Challenge,' known as the 'fainting game,' being shared among teenagers. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] After a 10-year-old girl in Italy is presumed to have died while playing the "fainting game" on the Chinese app TikTok, the government temporarily blocked access to TikTok for users whose age has not been verified.

The Italian Data Protection Authority issued a statement on the night of the 22nd (local time) and announced, according to AFP, that "access to TikTok will be blocked for users whose age is not verified until February 15."

The Italian government took this measure because the 10-year-old girl in Italy, who was using the video-sharing service TikTok, is presumed to have died while playing suffocation games.

Previously, the 10-year-old girl living in Palermo, Sicily, was found unconscious and collapsed in her home bathroom. She was taken to the hospital but was declared brain dead and passed away.

Investigators secured the girl’s mobile phone as evidence and are examining whether there was any content encouraging suicide. In Italy, a similar incident occurred in 2018 when a 14-year-old boy from Milan was presumed to have died while playing the fainting game.

The authority pointed out that "TikTok’s terms of service stipulate that only users aged 13 and older can use the service, but TikTok has not taken sufficient child protection measures." It added, "We filed a lawsuit against TikTok last December regarding this matter," and demanded that TikTok implement child protection measures by February 15.

Rizia Ronculi, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Child Protection, stated, "Social media should not become a jungle where anything is allowed," emphasizing the need to strengthen regulations on social media.

TikTok stated that it will cooperate with the investigation authorities but said it cannot confirm whether content encouraging the girl to participate in dangerous games was circulated.

Meanwhile, the blackout challenge, also known as the "suffocation game," which is trending on TikTok, is known to block oxygen to the brain, causing hallucination-like sensations. This game is popular mainly among teenagers, and numerous related videos are shared through TikTok and other platforms.