Archie Battersbee’s mom slams social media giants over son’s death, says ‘blackout challenge' killed 82 children
LONDON, UK: The mother of Archie Battersbee has slammed social media giants over the death of her 12-year-old son due to an online ‘blackout challenge’. Hollie Dance in her first interview since son’s death on August 6 held social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok responsible for the unfortunate incident.
Speaking to The Mirror, the 46-year-old stated the online ‘blackout challenge’ had also claimed the lives of 82 other children. Archie Battersbee’s devastated mother asked the social media giants to take action on dangerous challenges like the one her son participated in where they strangle themselves until they faint. Archie Battersbee died on Saturday, August 6 after his life support was removed following a prolonged legal battle by his parents in an attempt to continue his care.
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‘Social media companies don’t do enough to stop harmful content online’
Speaking for the first time to a publication since the untimely death of her son, Hollie Dance said, “The social media companies don’t do enough to stop harmful content online.” She continued, “It’s out there and people are grooming our children to do these challenges, it’s disgusting” adding, “The people – they’re often adults, not children – who are demonstrating these challenges are sick.”
Archie Battersbee’s mother had found footage online of a man in his 30s tying something around his neck and pulling it tight. Shedding light on the same, she asserted, “This is a grown man demonstrating this trick to children. Those people need to be held accountable. The police and the Government need to work together to stop this.”
The Mirror reported that Hollie Dance will now campaign to change laws covering life support. Dance in a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay said, “Depriving disabled children of their right to life because of their disability is unacceptable.” According to The Daily Mail, a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokeswoman said, “The Online Safety Bill will force tech firms to protect children from dangerous viral stunts. Failing firms will face huge fines or have their sites blocked.”
What happened to Archie Battersbee?
The 12-year-old Archie Battersbee was found unconscious by his mother with a ligature around his neck on April 7. Archie was diagnosed with severe brain damage and kept on life support during the legal proceedings. Doctors had declared him brain-stem dead. A combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments, kept him alive. His parents after a heated legal battle eventually withdrew their son’s life support on August 6.