Cabello reacts to the poisoning of teenagers due to a viral challenge

Venezuela does not rule out promoting regulations on social networks after the report of five cases of intoxication of adolescents related to viral online challenges, said the Minister of the Interior and Justice of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello.

The Venezuelan official warned on Wednesday in a program on the state-run Venezuelan Television (VTV) that “the time will come” for this type of measures.

“There have already been five poisoning events in schools: two in the state of Miranda, one in the state of Barinas and two in the state of Portuguesa. How does this happen in homes? Because they are preparing that with homemade materials,” Cabello said.

Cabello’s comments follow a report by local media this week, according to which Venezuelan authorities are investigating the causes that led to the poisoning of at least 170 people at the beginning of this month and unofficially indicated that they were cases of “chroming.” ”, as it is known as a dangerous challenge that consists of inhaling vapors of toxic substances.

“Dear parents, representatives, dear fellow teachers, this is a job for all of us; There will come a time when we will have to regulate the use of social networks. Anyone can scream, but we are not going to hand over the future of this country to psychopaths,” Cabello said.

“What can they accuse us of that they haven’t accused us of? But the mental and physical health of our children is worth that and more,” he continued.

The viral challenge on social networks has caused the death of at least two minors in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Officials from the governorate of Portuguesa, one of the states in southwestern Venezuela where cases of poisoning were recorded, reported that blood samples had been taken from those affected to determine the substances that caused it.

The intention to regulate the use of networks in children and adolescents has spread. Governments around the world are trying to find a way to supervise young people’s use of technologies such as smartphones and social networks.

The Australian government announced in early November what it described as world-first legislation that would set an age limit of 16 to start using social media. The law would make platforms like X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook responsible for ensuring compliance.

Regulations of online platforms in Venezuela

It is not the first time that the Venezuelan authorities refer to the need to regulate social networks and, in fact, deputies of the Chavista-majority Parliament are working on a bill for that purpose.

In August, the social network

At that time, President Nicolás Maduro urged his supporters to eliminate the instant messaging application WhatsApp, arguing that it was being used to “threaten” the country and its institutions, after the presidential elections in which, without presenting disaggregated results, the electoral body declared him the winner for a third termamid complaints of fraud from the opposition that attributes the victory to former candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.

Maduro this week stated that social networks have a negative influence on children and adults, and announced that at least 100 schools are testing the “regularization” of cell phones.

“Sociability has increased, the exchange between girls and boys has decreased, anguish and anxiety have decreased, violence has decreased, which is sometimes positioned, it has very good results,” he said.

Various organizations defending fundamental rights have denounced a “continuous reduction of civic space in Venezuela both online and offline.” More than 60 websites, most of them informative, are blocked in the country according to reports from Ve Sin Filtro and the Press and Society Institute (Ipys).

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