After the first child died from self-strangulation while attempting a recommended "Blackout Challenge," there were many steps that TikTok could've taken to protect other kids. Instead, a new lawsuit filed in California says TikTok chose to continue profiting from promoting what's now being described as its deadliest challenge, which will cause the deaths of six more children in 2021.
Two of those children were sued by their parents. They say their kids became addicted to TikTok, were fed a constant stream of seemingly harmless challenge videos persuading them to participate, and died after attempting the Blackout Challenge. TikTok users are encouraged to post videos where they choke themselves to death.
TikTok is being sued for its product design that directed kids to videos rather than for publishing harmful videos.
The parents' legal team at the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) summarized the lengthy complaint: "The suit alleges that TikTok's design of its social media product results in an addictive product that is not safe for users and fails to warn."
A TikTok spokesman told The New York Times that the company wouldn't comment on the litigation. A previous company statement was linked to a 10-year-old girl who died after trying the Blackout Challenge. TikTok said that the disturbing challenge had never become a TikTok trend. TikTok promised to remain vigilant in their commitment to user safety and remove related content if found.
AdvertisementAccording to the lawsuit, the "Blackout Challenge" can't be found on TikTok's social media product, which proves that the videos could've been taken down after the first death. The cost of including age and identity verification into TikTok's product would be negligible, even though the company chose not to limit child exposure to the challenge.
Parents want a jury trial to determine if TikTok's design needs to be changed. Damages have not been sought yet, but are expected to cover losses suffered by the kids before they died, as well as the loss of each kid's future earning capacity.
Matthew P. Bergman is part of the legal team for the parents. TikTok has invested billions of dollars to design products that push dangerous content that can result in the deaths of its users.
When kids post videos of themselves that they're too young for TikTok, parents file a lawsuit. The platform knows that hundreds of thousands of children as young as 6 years old are currently using its social media product, but doesn't attempt to end accounts for users under the age of 12 because that would diminish their ad revenue.
The complaint states that "TikTok has information and knowledge that can determine with certainty each user's age, habits, and other personal information, regardless of what information the user gives at the time of account setup." TikTok knows when a user is 21 but actually 12.
Kids under 13 can be kept off TikTok. There are many actions that TikTok could have taken to save lives after the first report of a child dying after attempting the "Blackout Challenge," according to the lawsuit.
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