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Police in Italy (archive image)
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Andrea Fasani / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
The Italian police are investigating a woman known from social media for incitement to suicide in the Sicilian province of Syracuse.
The 48-year-old and a man could have tempted young fans with a so-called challenge on the social media app TikTok to possibly imitate a life-threatening test of courage, the police said.
With transparent tape, the two wrapped their faces, including mouth and nose, so that they could no longer breathe.
According to the police, the woman is an influencer with hundreds of thousands of fans.
During their investigations, the officials found that the 48-year-old had produced several videos, allegedly to get more followers.
The police rated the video as "extremely dangerous" for minors, which is why they had TikTok remove it.
The investigators also confiscated the woman's account.
Just over a week ago, the tragic death of ten-year-old Antonella in the Sicilian city of Palermo caused dismay.
The girl had probably strangled herself during a test of courage on TikTok, a "Blackout Challenge", until she passed out.
The police did not provide any information as to whether the ten-year-old had watched this exact video.
Minors could imitate this or other videos, the investigators said.
The parents had taken the child to a hospital where doctors determined it was brain dead.
The national data protection regulator has asked TikTok to control the age of its users more closely.
Access to TikTok has been temporarily blocked for users whose age has not been proven beyond doubt, it said.
TikTok actually requires a minimum age of 13 years.
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wit / dpa / AFP