TikTok temporarily banned in Italy following death of young girl

TikTok
TikTok (Image credit: Android Central)

What you need to know

  • TikTok has been temporarily banned for young users in Italy.
  • It follows the tragic death of a young girl trying to take part in a 'blackout challenge'.

TikTok has been temporarily banned in Italy following the death of a young girl.

A 10-year-old girl was found unconscious and declared dead in a Palermo hospital, after asphyxiating herself trying to take part in a 'blackout challenge'. From ANSA

A 10-year-old Italian girl was declared brain dead by a Palermo hospital Thursday after taking the Blackout Challenge on TikTok. Her parents have OK'd donating the organs of the girl, who tied a belt around her throat to self-asphyxiate in the challenge on the popular social-media platform.

Following the incident, The Guardian reports that TikTok is assisting prosecutors with an investigation into the death and that the app has temporarily been blocked in the country:

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said on Friday it had not managed to identify any content on its site that could have encouraged the girl to participate in any such challenge, but was helping the authorities in the probe over possible "incitement to suicide"."The safety of the TikTok community is our absolute priority, for this motive we do not allow any content that encourages, promotes or glorifies behaviour that could be dangerous," a TikTok spokesman said.The Italian Data Protection Authority said in a statement later Friday that it would "block the (Chinese) social media network" with immediate effect until 15 February, by which date the network would have to meet the regulator's demands.

According to the girl's parents, they had no idea she was trying to take part in "the blackout game", and that they only knew she used TikTok for dances and to look at videos. The death has prompted an outcry in Italy for greater regulation of social media platforms.

Stephen Warwick
Latest in Apps & Software
The promotional image for Google Workspace feature drops.
The March Workspace feature drop upgrades Gemini's note-taking and translation tools
Google discusses trends and AI updates to help people travel this summer.
Google prepares you for a hot summer with new AI updates for traveling
YouTube Music home screen
YouTube Music's personalized radio stations are getting even smarter
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Home Screen - 16x9
Heads up — Samsung's detailed One UI 7 rollout schedule for Galaxy appears
The old Android logo at Google's Pier 57 building in New York City
Report claims Google may move to 'privately' develop Android's future
Comparing the display size on the Samsung Galaxy S25 with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus
What you need to know about One UI 7: Software is hard
Latest in News
The promotional image for Google Workspace feature drops.
The March Workspace feature drop upgrades Gemini's note-taking and translation tools
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display
New leak shows off Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in 'Titanium' variants
Google discusses trends and AI updates to help people travel this summer.
Google prepares you for a hot summer with new AI updates for traveling
YouTube Music home screen
YouTube Music's personalized radio stations are getting even smarter
The back of the Obsidian Google Pixel 9 Pro
Some Pixel owners had a delayed start, thanks to alarm clock failures
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Home Screen - 16x9
Heads up — Samsung's detailed One UI 7 rollout schedule for Galaxy appears