Maduro gives TikTok 72 hours to withdraw viral challenges

Nicolás Maduro gave TikTok 72 hours to remove “criminal challenges” from the platform after the death of two teenagers in the country after consuming drugs following “challenges” published on the popular social network of Chinese origin.

«A girl died in Petare today, 12 years old, from a public high school for ingesting and following these so-called challenges, challenges they call it, ‘challenge’, on TikTok, the girl managed to speak in the middle of her convulsions and say that she had seen it on Tiktok,” he said during his program Con Maduro +.

A 14-year-old teenager also died “who participated in those challenges that are running on TikTok,” he added.

Faced with this, Maduro ordered the president of the National Telecommunications Commission of Venezuela (Conatel) contact those in charge of TikTok to ask them to remove content for which an investigation was opened in the country.

“I have given the order to General Jorge Márquez, president of Conatel, to contact TikTok Latin America in Mexico immediately and give him 72 hours to remove all these so-called abusive, criminal challenges from Venezuela,” said the president.

“To the head of Latin America who lives in Mexico I say: this death of these children falls on you, because it is you TikTok who are spreading this,” he stated.

Will TikTok be blocked in Venezuela?

If the videos are not removed, Maduro assured that Venezuela “will take severe measures” against TikTok “in defense” of the right to life of the children: “My pulse does not tremble to take the most severe measure against these TikTok criminals.”

Maduro also called on teachers and parents to review the content that minors consume on social networks.

Maduro ordered the blockade of X

On August 8, Maduro ordered the blocking of

Weeks later, the platform was unblocked in private Internet operators, but it remains restricted to users of the state telecommunications company Cantv.

Maduro also called for a boycott against the WhatsApp messaging application and uninstalled it from his cell phone on August 6, as shown on television.

By accusing them of inciting hatred and promoting “anti-values”, Chavismo seeks to regulate social networks through laws that are discussed in Parliament, with a pro-government majority.