The “Blackout Challenge” made headlines this week after a 12yearold girl choked to death trying to replicate the trend. The game suggests that participants choke for a few seconds to reach a perceived state of euphoria and share the result with other participants, especially on TikTok.
Though back in vogue in 2021, the idea began circulating on social media in 2008, the year that 82 young people in the US alone died trying to get the disease, according to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and challenge to face prevention. Old records of the game online have been cited by TikTok as an argument saying it bears no responsibility for the virus.
Still, families of young Americans who died trying to complete the challenge have sued the video platform in a reasonable lawsuit, according to a USbased Virtual Victims Legal Center.
Lawyers told the Los Angeles Times that TikTok was aware of the game’s virality and network officials “should have recognized that delaying in taking significant and swift action to prevent its spread would result in more injuries and deaths, particularly among children.” .
In response, after posting the trend’s disastrous results, TikTok blocked the BlackoutChallenge hashtag on its search engine.
“We remain committed to user safety and will remove content related (to the challenge) if reported,” an app spokesperson told People magazine.
19 fatalities were recorded in the “new wave” of the challenge
In November 2022, a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek linked five deaths of teenagers ages 13 to 14 and 15 deaths of children ages 12 and younger to the challenge.
“What happens in the brain is a lack of oxygen, similar to someone who’s drowning, choking or having a cardiac arrest,” doctor Nick Flynn told the Irish Examiner newspaper. “If you don’t have enough oxygen in your brain for more than three minutes, you can suffer brain damage. For more than five minutes, this deficiency leads to death.”
In the “new wave” of the challenge, those who escape strangulation post their videos of stopping their breathing with belts, ropes or similar objects. According to US authorities, who have overseen the challenge from the start, the secretive tone of the challenge, with no other people around, makes it difficult for those who are not catching their breath to get help.
Health officials have warned parents of teens about the signs their children may be taking part in the game:
- Use of the terms “Desafio do Desmaio” or “Space Monkey”, which are considered synonyms for the trend on social networks.
- Red lines in the eyes.
- Markings on the neck.
- Strong headache.
- Disorientation for no apparent reason.
- Presence of ropes, collars or similar objects in the room.
Argentina was found in the room
- Milagros Soto was found hanging from a makeshift noose in her room on Friday (13th).
- After investigations in Santa Fe, Argentina, she tried to fulfill the “Blackout Challenge”.
- The family published a story to raise awareness among netizens.
- Milagros was not the first fatal victim of the Blackout Challenge. In 2021, two teenagers died from the virus.
A similar case changed the TikTok rules in Italy
- In 2021, a 10yearold girl was choked to death in Palermo while facing the same challenge.
- She was found dead in the bathroom by her then 5yearold brother.
- The death prompted the Italian government to immediately suspend accounts for TikTok users under the age of 13.
- In November of the same year, a 12yearold boy in Chile died the same way.