A LAWSUIT has been filed against TikTok blaming the social media giant for the deaths of two young girls.
The disturbing trend encourages users to choke themselves until they lose consciousness, reports claim.
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Parents of two children who reportedly died attempting the ‘blackout challenge’ have filed a wrongful death suit against TikTok.
The lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm promoted the challenge, which instructs participants to strangle themselves with “belts, purse strings, or other similar items“.
The Guardian quoted attorney Matthew P Bergman saying “TikTok needs to be held accountable for pushing deadly content to these two young girls.”
“TikTok has invested billions of dollars to intentionally design products that push dangerous content that it knows is dangerous and can result in the deaths of its users.”
Bergman founded the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVL) and the firm is currently representing the parents suing TikTok.
One of the children who died attempting the blackout challenge aspired to be “TikTok famous”.
The complaint says she “quickly became addicted to watching TikTok videos” after being gifted a phone for her 8th birthday.
The LA Times reported that the police reviewed her phone and tablet history and the lawsuit says she had been watching blackout challenge videos “on repeat”.
The case was filed with the Los Angeles county superior court.
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Cyberbullying, insecurity caused by social media, and twisted dares like the ‘blackout challenge’ have turned communication tools against a vulnerable generation of users.
“TikTok prioritized greater corporate profits over the health and safety of its users and, specifically, over the health and safety of vulnerable children TikTok knew or should have known were actively using its social media product,” attorneys for the SMVLC said.
The blackout challenge is the latest in a line of dangerous challenges reaching the masses on TikTok.
Internet challenges promoting suicide among young users predate TikTok’s rise.
A National Library of Medicine study found that extended time online will increase exposure to content that encourages self-harm.
