CAIRO — Egyptians are debating a blanket ban on risky online games following the suicide of an Egyptian politician’s 18-year-old son, who is reportedly one of the latest victims of the dangerous online game "Blue Whale Challenge."
Ahmed Badawi, a member of the parliamentary Communication and Information Technology Committee, told Al-Monitor that he made an urgent statement to parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal on some dangerous online games — such as Blue Whale Challenge, Bloody Mary and Charlie Charlie Challenge — that have gone viral in recent years and attracted the attention of children and teenagers, pushing them to use violence and commit murder and suicide. These three games involve acts that can quickly turn into mass hysteria, panic, violence, self-injury or even suicide.