Centre Asks Social Media Platforms To Remove Links Of ‘Blue Whale Challenge’

With reports of the Blue Whale Challenge having made its way to India, the Government has directed all social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to remove links of the game from their sites.

The Blue Whale Challenge is reportedly a suicide game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete for a period of 50 days, and the final task leads to suicide. The player is asked to share photos after finishing each challenge.

In a Notice issued on 11 August, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) expressed concern over the ready availability of the game online, and said, “It is understood that an administrator of the game uses social media platform to invite or incite children to play this game, which may eventually lead the child to extreme steps for self-inflicting injuries including suicide”.

The notice has also directed that the proponents of the game should be reported to law enforcement agencies. Copies of the notice have been forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The issue of banning the game was also recently raised by the Maharashtra Assembly and in the Rajya Sabha by members, who called for removal of such games from websites.