TikTok suicide video prompts urgent warning among parents
Parents of children who use TikTok are being warned about a video of a man taking his own life that is spreading on the social media platform.
The distressing video has been circulating on the popular app since Sunday evening.
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Hide AdSeveral parenting sites, including popular forum Mumsnet, have warned those with children to be vigilant of the clip circulating.
A TikTok spokesperson said: “On Sunday night, clips of a suicide that had been livestreamed on Facebook circulated on other platforms, including TikTok.
“Our systems have been automatically detecting and flagging these clips for violating our policies against content that displays, praises, glorifies, or promotes suicide.
“We are banning accounts that repeatedly try to upload clips, and we appreciate our community members who've reported content and warned others against watching, engaging, or sharing such videos on any platform out of respect for the person and their family.
“If anyone in our community is struggling with thoughts of suicide or concerned about someone who is, we encourage them to seek support, and we provide access to hotlines directly from our app and in our Safety Centre.”
Samaritans’ service is free, confidential and anonymous. Anyone can contact Samaritans for free on 116 123, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your local branches’ opening hours. You can call for free on any landline or mobile, even if you don’t have phone credit and calls to the Samaritans won’t show up on your phone bill.