Parents sue TikTok, saying children died after watching 'Blackout Challenge'

Lawsuit, involving 8- and 9-year-old girls, says TikTok knew or should have known its product was 'addictive' and directed children to dangerous content.

Parents of two daughters who said their children died following a 'blackout challenge' on TikTok are suing the company, claiming that its algorithm intentionally served children dangerous content that led to their deaths.

The girls were 8 and 9 years old when they died last year after viewing the challenge, which encouraged users to choke until they passed out, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Lawsuit says TikTok knew or should have known its product was 'addictive', directed children to harmful content and failed to take significant action to stop these videos or to warn n children and parents about them.

The complaint specifically cites the TikTok's "For You" page, which the complaint says shows a stream of videos selected by an algorithm developed by TikTok that is based on a user's demographics, likes, and past activity on the 'application. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

"TikTok must be held liable for pushing deadly content at these two young girls," said Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, a private law firm established in November to hold social media companies accountable for harming children.

A door TikTok's spokesperson said the company would not comment on continuing litigation. But the spokesperson referenced a statement from December, when People magazine reported that a Pennsylvania mother said her 10-year-old daughter died attempting the blackout challenge.

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"This disturbing 'challenge', which people seem to know about from sources other than TikTok, long predates our platform and has never trended on TikTok," said said the statement, which was linked to a federal report of deaths from "choking play." from 1995 to 2007. "We remain vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would immediately remove related content if found. Our deepest condolences go out to the family for their tragic loss."

Social media sites like TikTok promote content based on user preferences, said Dr. Lois Lee, member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury Prevention, violence and poisons. Without parental controls, children can be exposed to a range of content, including videos they may not understand, she said.

L Academy recommends that parents monitor their children's social media use. and limit screen time as much as possible. When kids see a lot of likes on a challenge video, Dr. Lee said, they may think it's safe or fun to try, not understanding the consequences.

"Elementary-school-aged children don't have the knowledge or insight to realize that these are dangerous things to do," she said.

One ​​of the girls named in the lawsuit, 8-year-old Lalani Erika Walton of Temple, Texas, was portrayed in the costume as a sweet, outgoing child who liked to dress up as a princess and playing with makeup. She wanted to be a famous rapper like Cardi B.

She got her first cell phone on her 8th birthday on April 23, 2021 , and quickly became "addicted" to TikTok, where she posted videos of herself singing and dancing in hopes of becoming "TikTok famous", says e the costume.

After Lalani was seriously injured in a car accident in which one of her half-brothers died, she went to live with her beautiful -mother. Unbeknownst to her mother or mother-in-law, TikTok's algorithm "steered" Lalani in July 2021 into the blackout challenge, according to the lawsuit.

Lalani had bruises on her neck on July 13, 2021, and told her family...