6 families are suing TikTok after kids die doing the 'blackout challenge'

"Six families are suing TikTok after their children died emulating the so-called "blackout challenge" they had seen on the social media platform. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok's algorithm exposed the teenagers, ages 11 to 17, to content that encouraged them to choke themselves to the point of passing out. Each of the children were found dead with some form of binding around their neck, hanging or otherwise attempting the challenge, according to the lawsuit."

"Filed in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, the lawsuit names two TikTok legal entities and its parent company, ByteDance. ByteDance and one of the entities, TikTok LLC, are incorporated in Delaware. The suit claims the children's deaths were "the foreseeable result of ByteDance's engineered addiction-by-design and programming decisions," which were "aimed at pushing children into maximizing their engagement with TikTok by any means necessary.""

"TikTok is bidding to dismiss the filing, arguing that because five of the families are British, the court has no jurisdiction over defendants mainly based in the U.K., and under the First Amendment and the current law called the Communications Decency Act, which shields internet companies from liability for third-party user-posted content. Matthew P. Bergman, the plaintiff's attorney, countered that the lawsuit is about product liability and dangerous design choices, according to reporting from the Delaware News Journal."

Six families filed a lawsuit after their children, ages 11 to 17, died while emulating the "blackout challenge" seen on TikTok. The suit alleges TikTok's algorithm exposed teenagers to content encouraging self-choking until passing out. Each child was found dead with some form of binding around the neck, hanging, or otherwise attempting the challenge. The filing in Delaware names two TikTok legal entities and parent company ByteDance, noting ByteDance and TikTok LLC are incorporated in Delaware. The complaint alleges the deaths resulted from ByteDance's engineered addiction-by-design and programming decisions aimed at maximizing child engagement. TikTok seeks dismissal on jurisdiction and immunity grounds; plaintiffs frame the case as product liability and dangerous design choices.

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