A grieving Pennsylvania mother is suing TikTok after her 10-year-old daughter died while participating in the “Blackout Challenge” on the video network.
Tawainna Anderson said in her lawsuit that her daughter, Nylah, tried the deadly challenge in December, in which participants are encouraged to block their airways until they lose consciousness.
According to Anderson, her daughter found out about the challenge on the corporation’s For You page.
Nylah was transported to the hospital and placed in the intensive care unit, where she lingered for many days before succumbing to her injuries.
Anderson brought the lawsuit in the United States. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s District Court.
According to the lawsuit, the company’s algorithm judged that the deadly Blackout Challenge was well-tailored and likely to pique Nylah Anderson’s attention, and she died as a consequence.
The action also claims that the app preys on vulnerable users, such as youngsters, by trapping them in a never-ending dopamine feedback loop that leads to addiction and a strong desire to use the TikTok Defendants’ app even more.
Anderson claims that the corporation is responsible for wrongful death, strict product responsibility, and carelessness, and is seeking an unknown sum of damages.
Anderson stated in a statement about the complaint, “I want to hold this company accountable. It is time that these dangerous challenges come to an end, that other families don’t experience the heartbreak we live every day.”
“Our lawsuit is not about simply somebody posting the video, it’s about the actions that TikTok took to send the video to Nylah.” said attorney Jeffrey Goodman.
TikTok has yet to comment publicly on the ongoing legal battle.
