Tiktok Blackout Challenge: 13-year-old from Hesse dies

In the blackout challenge, you strangle yourself until you pass out. A supposed test of courage that is currently trending on Tiktok. A 13-year-old girl from Hesse is said to have died in the process. This is indicated by videos on her smartphone. The girl's mother spoke to the radio station FFH about her daughter's death. The challenge is said to have claimed two lives in the USA two years ago. Their families filed a lawsuit against Tiktok. There are also reports of children and young people dying in other countries.

The girl from near Kassel died at the end of April. The public prosecutor's office in Hesse confirmed the incident to Hessischer Rundfunk. There had been an investigation into the death, which did not reveal any evidence of external culpability. However, the public prosecutor's office did not provide any further information on the cause of death.

In the conversation with a radio reporter, the mother is said to have warned about Tiktok. FFH quotes her: "It makes me think that she tried something like that, I couldn't imagine it." However, videos on the smartphone are said to show exactly that. The mother, who according to the radio station wanted to go public, also says that parents should urgently talk to their children about the dangers.

Tiktok challenges as an ongoing problem

This is not the first time that children and young people have reportedly died because they wanted to take part in Tiktok challenges. Most recently, there was an incident during the so-called hot chips challenge, in which very spicy snacks are eaten. Several young people are said to have ended up in hospital as a result. The state of Hesse has banned the sale of chips. Further incidents are said to have occurred with inhaled deodorants. Two young people are said to have died in Germany during these tests of courage.

If you search for the challenges on Tiktok, you will notice that there are mainly videos warning against them. You won't find any videos of the actual tests of courage straight away. However, even such warnings can lead you to try them out, without having to imitate them. Videos can be sent privately, so the actual challenge does not necessarily have to take place on the platform itself. If you search for the hashtag blackout challenge on Instagram, you will find almost identical content.

Tiktok repeatedly emphasizes that they do not want such challenges on the platform. They also repeatedly respond with warnings and try to sort out the videos. heise online asked Tiktok for a statement on the latest incident.

(emw)