President Nicolás Maduro has summoned TikTok representatives after a viral challenge on the platform, known as the “Clonazepam Challenge,” reportedly led to the deaths of three children aged 12, 13, and 14 in Venezuela.
The dangerous trend involves participants ingesting or inhaling clonazepam—a prescription drug used to treat epilepsy and panic disorders—often mixed with other substances, with the goal of remaining awake longer than their peers.
“If TikTok doesn’t end its dirty campaigns to manipulate our minds, Venezuelan law will be enforced,” Maduro declared on Monday after summoning TikTok officials through the country’s highest court.
In response to the fatalities, Maduro ordered Jorge Márquez, head of Venezuela’s National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), to demand that TikTok Latin America remove all content related to the challenge.
“Venezuela, in defense of its children and the right to life, will take the most severe measures against the social network TikTok,” said Maduro, describing platform officials as “psychopaths who hate humanity.”
Maduro also called for the identification of TikTok’s Latin America head, based in Mexico, placing the blame for the children’s deaths on the executive.
“To the head of TikTok Latin America, I say: the deaths of these children are on you. We will find out who you are and make your identity known to the world,” Maduro warned.
One of the victims, a young girl from Petare, reportedly participated in the challenge alongside classmates during a video call. After consuming clonazepam, she experienced severe convulsions and was rushed to Ana Francisca Pérez de León Hospital, where she later died.
Before her death, she revealed that the challenge involved taking the medication with friends, with the first person to fall asleep considered the loser.
The Clonazepam Challenge is not confined to Venezuela. Other Latin American countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and Peru, have reported similar incidents involving minors. In Mexico, as of May 2023, 45 people were affected after participating in the challenge. In Peru, a fifth-grade student was declared brain dead after taking part in the trend while in Colombia, 10 teenagers were hospitalized in June 2024 due to clonazepam-related poisonings.
Since 2022, the challenge has resulted in hundreds of reported incidents across Latin America, prompting increased scrutiny of social media platforms.
TikTok has highlighted its use of automated technology to identify and remove harmful content. According to the platform’s Q2 2024 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, over 178 million videos were removed globally between April and June 2024, with 144 million flagged by automated systems.
In Africa, TikTok removed 2.1 million videos from Nigeria during the same period, with an improved proactive detection rate of 98.2%. The platform also banned approximately 60,000 accounts in Kenya, including 57,262 linked to underage users.
However, despite these efforts, the Clonazepam Challenge has raised questions about the platform’s ability to prevent harmful content from reaching vulnerable users.
“While TikTok’s technology reduces human exposure to violent content, its ability to prevent dangerous trends from going viral remains under scrutiny,” the report noted.
Venezuela’s Minister of Education, Héctor Rodríguez, emphasized the need for further investigation into the deaths and the role social media plays in promoting dangerous behavior among youth.
“Our teenagers are highly vulnerable to this type of provocation. Social networks appear to reward scandalous behavior, limiting the ability for critical reflection and consideration of consequences,” Rodríguez stated.
As Venezuela intensifies its crackdown on TikTok, the country joins a growing list of nations pushing for stricter oversight of social media platforms to protect the well-being of young users