The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died last year is suing TikTok and its parent company ByteDance over allegations the company promoted a so-called "Blackout Challenge" to the child. A complaint was filed Thursday by the mother of a girl who died after attempting to perform the Blackout Challenge. The mother said she rushed her to the hospital, but she died from her injuries. According to court documents, the challenge was recommended to her by an analysis that determined that the Blackout Challenge was well-tailored and likely to be of interest to 10-year-old Nylah Anderson. The Blackout Challenge has been running on the platform for years, but similar challenges have been part of the school playground environment for decades. Over the past few years, there have been a number of similar and heavily publicized TikTok choking incidents. A 10-year-old girl in Italy and a 12-year-old boy in Colorado died after attempting the challenge. This disturbing challenge, which people seem to learn about from sources other than TikTok, is long before our platform, according to an email statement. If found, related content would be immediately removed. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family. Next-Level Sound can be experienced. Theater-like sound surrounds you with spatial audio with dynamic head tracking.
Content that advocates self harm is not allowed on the platform. The app has a version for users under 13 that restricts personal details, but it's not clear how automatic systems might restrict content from coming up in users feeds.
All it takes is to be above the age limit to open an account on the platform. More than 15 million accounts were removed by the company last year.
TikTok is one of the most powerful and technologically advanced companies in the world, so what did it do when it learned?
The complaint states that the app is designed to encourage children to engage more often. TikTok is accused of being a distributor of the content that promoted it to Tawainna.
Anderson said during the press conference that it was time for these dangerous challenges to end.
There are other lawsuits against TikTok over allegations they promote dangerous content to children. Several state attorney generals are investigating whether or not TikTok is harmful to young adults, and whether the company is aware of the content younger users see.
TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms, and it is expected to make more money in advertising than any other platform.
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