TikTok ‘put kids in danger’ by not removing ‘challenge’ movies, claim grieving parents

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Two grieving moms who imagine they misplaced their sons via harmful TikTok challenges claim the app has not gone far sufficient to take away dangerous content material.

Hollie Dance, 48, and Lisa Kenevan, 51, are campaigning for brand new disturbing “hold breath challenge” movies to be taken down after uncovering a plethora of regarding clips on the video-sharing app.

Many of the clips characteristic imagery from the favored Minecraft sport – viewers are prompted with darkish messages of encouragement to maintain going, akin to “comment ‘bread’ if you are still holding your breath”.

Isaac Kenevan, 13, was a typical teenage boy who liked gaming and sports activities. But final March, a coroner dominated he died because of misadventure after Ms Kenavan discovered him lifeless on the lavatory ground in March 2022.

The mom, from Essex, believes his dying was because of a web based “choking” problem after the police discovered two movies of him finishing the problem on his cellphone shortly earlier than he died.

She stated: “I just think it’s a complete insult they’re putting our children in danger. We’ve lost our children – from someone putting these videos on our phones.”

The parents are frightened the brand new “hold breath challenge” may result in fatalities in the identical approach the “blackout challenge” did, which equally dared customers to carry their breath till they misplaced consciousness. It was linked to the deaths of three youngsters.

The Independent contacted TikTok, which has since taken down three of the brand new harmful problem movies reported by Ms Kenevan.

Archie Battersbee’s case hit the headlines when his mom Ms Dance misplaced a painful authorized battle in 2022 to maintain her son’s life assist switched on after he suffered a catastrophic mind harm.

She had found her 12-year-old son unconscious on the steps and likewise suspects he might have taken half in a web based problem.

“The videos use captivating noises and challenge users to hold their breath as they are guided down a very long way,” she stated.

Dr Kiran Rajneesh, a professor of neurology at Ohio State University, stated holding your breath for too lengthy can lower oxygen circulation to the mind which might trigger fainting, seizures and mind injury. It may also trigger coronary heart, kidney and liver injury.

A coroner dominated Archie, who was described as an lively, excellent boy who liked MMA and gymnastics, died by chance in a “prank or experiment” which went mistaken.

Speaking after the listening to, Steven Horsley from Simpson Millar solicitors, who represented Ms Dance, advised The Guardian: “Archie was using TikTok on the day of his injury, although we may never know what he was looking at.”

However, a coroner dominated that no proof had been discovered to assist ideas he had taken half in a “blackout” problem.

The implementation of the Online Safety Bill alerts new hope for solutions, as know-how firms will probably be ordered to supply up customers’ app historical past if a coroner deems social media may have contributed to a dying in any approach.

Bereaved households efficiently campaigned for full transparency of their deceased youngsters’s on-line information in the months main as much as their deaths. Before the regulation change, social media platforms solely had a 90-day retention coverage.

Ms Dance raised issues with the apps’ complaints process, which depends on bots as a substitute of individuals.

She advised The Independent: “My main concern: if you report something, there is a bot at the other end, and a robot is not a safeguarding officer or a human being – you know, that’s really dangerous.”

Ms Kenevan stated she has repeatedly reported such content material, however claims the app is failing to take away the content material or forestall it from being printed in the primary place.

Esther Ghey, the mom of murdered Brianna Ghey, has echoed the 2 moms’ requires extra stringent web regulation to forestall under-16s from utilizing social media.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe had been each 15 after they killed Brianna, 16, with a looking knife after luring her to a park in Culcheth, a village close to Warrington, Cheshire, on 11 February final 12 months.

Jenkinson had watched movies of torture and homicide on-line.

Ms Ghey is now campaigning for under-16s to be blocked from accessing social media on smartphones, and calling for stronger controls to flag probably dangerous searches to parents, in the wake of the sentencing of her daughter’s killers.

She stated the Online Safety Bill is a step in the suitable course however extra drastic measures should be taken to guard younger lives.

She advised BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think the Online Safety Bill is enough. The internet and social media is so vast, I think it will be so hard to police.

“The second point is as well, that comments and free speech – and don’t get me wrong I am all for free speech – but some of the comments I have seen on social media posts and some of the articles that I’ve done, they are just hateful comments.

“The Online Safety Bill is not going to protect children and young people from seeing that kind of horrible content because I don’t think that will be deemed as harmful.

“Smartphone companies should have a moral responsibility, and you should really want to do more.

“But I think that big companies like that are all about how much money they can generate and they don’t necessarily think about the impact it is having on the public, so I think that maybe there would have to be a law just to make sure it is properly enforced.”

Dame Melanie Dawes, chief government of communications regulator Ofcom, advised BBC Breakfast: “My heart goes out to Brianna’s family, and I think what her mum has done over the past few days in getting all these issues really high up the agenda is so important.”

She stated Ofcom was utilizing the powers given to it by the Online Safety Act, which handed into regulation late final 12 months, to “create a safer internet for teenagers”.

David Wright, the director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, stated: “Harmful social media challenges are deemed successful when they cause panic. Inadvertently naming challenges to warn children and young people about the danger it may pose is counterproductive and may inadvertently direct even more people towards them.

“Reporting the challenge is still always the best course of action – we all have a responsibility to limit exposure and not draw any unwanted attention towards this type of harm.

“The Professionals Online Safety Helpline has worked with TikTok for a number of years to ensure schools have another avenue to report harmful content if they come across content of this nature. We encourage professionals to use this support if they are concerned about harmful social media challenges by phoning 0344 381 4772’.”

A spokesperson for TikTok stated: “TikTok does not allow dangerous challenges, and we proactively find 99 per cent of content removed for breaking these rules. We partner with independent safeguarding organisations to continuously strengthen our approach, which includes age-restricting certain content and features, and blocking harmful search terms.”

Similar problem movies appeared on Instagram and YouTube, which The Independent has additionally contacted for remark.