SC junks plea against Blue Whale Challenge as Centre says can’t regulate it

The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of petition against the Blue Whale Challenge after the central government argued that it was not possible to regulate the game.

The government told the top court that regulation was not possible as the game is carried out through instant messaging app WhatsApp and there was no URL, website or exclusive mobile application for the game.

In October, the Supreme Court had termed Blue Whale challenge as a "national problem", asking Doordarshan and private television channels to help create awareness about the game. They were asked to highlight the consequences of the game in the prime time slot.

During the hearing, the Centre had told the top court that it had set up an expert committee to look into the Blue Whale menace and would file a report in three weeks.

After the game led to suicides in different parts of the country, the apex court had asked the Centre to take up the issue urgently.

The game has reportedly been the cause of hundreds of suicides across the world, primarily in Russia.

A 17-year-old Russian girl has been identified as the alleged mastermind of the Blue Whale suicide game.

The teenager and a 21-year-old man were arrested in August in connection with the deadly online game, the metro.co.uk reported.

The girl had reportedly threatened to kill her victims and their family members if they failed to complete all the tasks of the game.

The arrested man has been accused of inciting young girls to commit suicides.

Citing Russian investigators, the report said the girl did not end her life and instead choose to become an ‘admin’ of the deadly online game.

The tasks in the game include watching horror films, waking in the middle of the night, and self harming.

The 17-year-old girl was arrested in Russia's Khabarovsk Krai region.

Cyber experts had recently warned that a number of fictitious Blue Whale gaming apps and malware are still available on the internet which lure users to download them and in the process steal their personal information.

A man from Tamil Nadu had earlier filed a petition in the apex court seeking a ban on the Blue Whale challenge, which is being blamed for deaths of several children across the world.

(With agency inputs)