Italy blocks Tik Tok, investigates death of 10-year-old girl as “incitement to suicide”

The Italian organization in charge of the protection of personal data ordered this Saturday block until February 15 the functioning of the social network Tik Tok in cases where the age of users cannot be proved “with certainty”, after the death of a 10-year-old girl during a challenge proposed by the company which is the subject of an investigation as “incitement to suicide ”.

“The guarantor of the protection of personal data ordered in relation to Tik Tok the immediate blocking of the use of user data for those who do not do so anagraphic age must be safely demonstrated“The body made up of members of Parliament which is responsible for online data protection in Italy said in a statement this evening.

Official body decision comes a day after 10-year-old Italian girl death of suffocation in the city of Palerm, in southern Italyor, region of Sicily, while doing a viral challenge offered by the social network TikTok.

After the girl’s death, the Palermo prosecutor’s office investigated an alleged “incitement to suicide” as the cause of death.

The game in which the deceased girl participated is called “Blackout Challenge” and it consists of children block their breath until they pass out and thus “have a strong feeling”, which causes accidents every year, some fatal.

As early as December, the personal data regulator had accused Tik Tok of a series of violations such as the lack of attention to the protection of minors; the ease with which it is possible to circumvent the ban, provided for by the same platform, on the registration of children under 13; the lack of transparency and clarity in the information provided to users; and using default settings that don’t respect privacy, the agency reported today.

Antonella, who participated in the call “blackout challenge”He put a belt around his neck to stay breathless as long as possible, while recording the scene on his cell phone, in the bathroom of his family home, the Italian press reported.

The 5-year-old’s sister discovered the unconscious body and her parents took her to the children’s hospital in the city of Palermo, but she did not survive.

“We didn’t know anything”the girl’s father confessed to La Repubblica newspaper. “I only knew Antonella was going to TikTok to watch videos. How could I imagine this atrocity?” They said.

The mother and father of the deceased girl said that another 9-year-old sister was the one who explained what had happened and told them: “Antonella was playing the choking game.”

“That my daughter, my little Antonella, die in an extreme game of TikTok, I cannot accept it!”, Added Angelo Sicomero, who together with his wife decided to donate the organs of the girl so that “d ‘other children can live thanks to her “.

The girl’s cell phone was seized by investigators, who are to determine if Antonella has had contact with other participants and if someone has invited her to participate in the challenge or I was making this video for a friend or relative.

After the tragedy, the platform founded in 2016 – which claims to have 100 million users in Europe – released a statement.

“LThe safety of the Tik Tok community is our top priorityWe are at the disposal of the competent authorities to collaborate in any investigation, ”the document indicates.

How to deal with similar cases: the opinion of a specialist

The news of the death of the young Italian girl, the Argentinian specialist in computer security Sebastián Bortnik recommended to work “the break” with children and adolescents on the use of technology and strengthen the dialogue with them adults, who must support them “To educate them from early childhood”.

“Minors must be subject to security restrictions in their digital lives, of their close adults, families, teachers, who must be attentive to their digital world, where they spend a large part of their time, ”said Telam Bortnik, author of the book Guide for parenting in a digital world.

“What you need to work on is how this person copes with the viral challenges,” he added.

On the one hand, according to the specialist, there is something typical of adolescence “where nothing we say can threaten a certain adolescent nature”, because there is more propensity to rebel or take risks.

This description of adolescence, he continued, is complemented by two other characteristics; one is that networks create a false sense of belonging, “and viral challenges reinforce that,” Bortnik said.

Another quality of the digital world is speed: “We move with a lot of anxiety and verbiage and we don’t stop to think, and the idea of ​​a break is being built.”

The last factor that increases the risk of viral challenges in children, girls and adolescents, it’s loneliness.

“If a kid goes to a club and something happens to him, he will surely tell his family about it, but if something happens to him in the digital world, many times they feel like the adults are not there to accompany them and this consultation space is missinga, ”he said.

On which, Bortnik stressed the need to “generate this idea that the adult is there to support and that is also being built”.

Any fact or suspicion of an action of grooming, the deliberate action of an adult to sexually harass a girl, boy or teenager via a digital medium that allows interaction between two or more people via social networks, e -mails, text messages, chat sites or online games, can be reported via free line 137, which operates nationwide.

With information and testimonials from Telam

JB