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Archie Battersbee's mother, Hollie Dance, has slammed social media platforms for not having adequate safety filters for young users. The mother lost her 12-year-old son after finding him unconscious in April 2022.
In a recent interview given to the press, Hollie claimed:
“The social media companies don’t do enough to stop harmful content online."
She added that adults on these platforms groom children to take part in dangerous stunts. She said:
“It’s out there and people are grooming our children to do these challenges, it’s disgusting. The people – they’re often adults, not children – who are demonstrating these challenges are sick.”
Hollie believes that her son took part in the infamous “blackout challenge."
She found him in her bedroom with a ligature around his neck. Archie was rushed to the Royal London Hospital, where he was kept on life support for four months until the court decided to withdraw it. Archie Battersbee took his last breaths on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
Archie Battersbee's mother wants action taken against people promoting deadly challenges online
Hollie believes that there have been at least 82 deaths linked to the "blackout challenge," where participants try to hold their breath until they lose conciseness.
The 46-year-old found videos of a 30-ish years old man tying something around his neck and pulling it tight. She criticized the person in the video, saying:
“This is a grown man demonstrating this ‘trick’ to children. These people need to be held accountable. The police and the Government need to work together to stop this.”
She is now hoping to bring some safety rules and precautions to social media platforms. These rules will help children avoid a fate similar to Archie's. She said:
“That’s the legacy I want for Archie. I want to protect the kids and the loved ones left behind. It’s unbearable.”
Various similar incidents have come to light in the recent past. A 10-year-old girl burned her skin after spraying it very closely with an aerosol deodorant. The child was trying to create a freezing sensation on the sprayed part.
Another 15-year-old were rushed to the hospital after taking part in the "skullbreaker challenge." The challenge includes three participants, where two participants kick the back of the knee of a third participant to make them fall over.
Lib Dem digital spokesman Jamie Stone criticized the UK government for the delay in the passing of the Online Safety Bill. He said:
“It’s more than four years since Conservative ministers promised new laws to tackle online harms, but we’re still waiting. We need clear, tough laws.”
The bill would supposedly "force tech firms to protect children from dangerous viral stunts." Platforms and companies failing to do so will be charged with "huge fines or have their sites blocked.”
Hollie fought to keep Archie Battersbee on life support for a longer time
Archie Battersbee was declared “brain-stem dead” at the Royal London Hospital on August 6, 2022. Barts Health NHS Trust advised against keeping him on life support for a prolonged period of time.
However, his parents were against the suggestion and decided to appeal through the court. After four months of battle, the court ruled in favor of "withdrawal of Archie’s life support."
Hollie announced her son's departure by saying:
"The morning Archie died I told him how much I loved him. At midday, they took his pipe out. It took 15 minutes for his heart to stop. There was nothing ‘dignified’ about his death. It was heartbreaking, watching your child suffocate. That image will never, ever leave me.”
Archie Battersbee's family is now aiming to change the laws covering life support. They believe that depriving "disabled children of their right to life because of their disability is unacceptable.”
