Why TikTok Getting Sued Over the “Blackout Challenge” Matters
A TikTok challenge is essentially a call to take some sort of action, record it and share it on TikTok with an easy-to-find hashtag.
There are numerous TikTok challenges going on at any one time and most of them are harmless. However, as with every online experience, there are risks involved, especially for young people.
The “Blackout Challenge” has allegedly led to the deaths of several children, resulting in a lawsuit against TikTok. Here’s why it matters…
TikTok Gets Sued for “Blackout Challenge”
The Blackout Challenge, also referred to as the “choking challenge” or the “pass-out challenge”, requires participants to hold their breath until they pass out.
The challenge has allegedly led to the deaths of several children, including eight-year-old Lalani Erika Walton, from Texas, and nine-year-old Arriani Jaileen Arroyo, from Wisconsin.
The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), released astatementregarding the deaths and the filing of the wrongful deaths lawsuit. The Center has sued TikTok, filing the lawsuit in the Superior Court of California for the wrongful deaths of both Lalani and Arriani on behalf of their parents.
Why Is TikTok Getting Sued?
According to the lawsuit, TikTok’s algorithm played a role in introducing the children to the challenge.
The lawsuit states:
TikTok’s dangerous algorithm intentionally and repeatedly pushed the deadly “Blackout Challenge” into both Lalani and Arriani’s TikTok ‘For You Page’ incentivizing them to participate in the challenge that ultimately took their lives.
The suit further alleges that:
TikTok’s defective design of its social media product results in an addictive product that is not safe for users and fails to warn minors and their parents that TikTok is addictive and pushes harmful content onto their ‘For You Page’ that could endanger their wellbeing.
“TikTok needs to be held accountable for pushing deadly content to these two young girls,” noted Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of SMVLC.
Potential Impact of the TikTok Suit
SMVLC is pushing the idea that social media platforms are products, and their owners are liable for the products that they create. Although product liability has historically referred to physical things, SMVLC is betting that the principle can be applied to social media as well.
If the courts agree, social media companies would then be forced to redesign their platforms to protect users from foreseeable injury or harm.
This would force TikTok (as well as other apps) to radically change how their algorithms work. This would potentially be an existential threat to TikTok, since its unique algorithm has made it one of the most popular social media apps in the world.
A victory for SMVLC may also cause social media apps to change their terms of service in a manner that offloads liability to its content creators in a bid to avoid future lawsuits.
Is TikTok Liable?
Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act has shielded internet companies from any legal liability for the content that is posted on their platforms since 1996. This has allowed the internet to flourish.
This is why SMVLC’s pursuit of the product liability route is a particularly clever one. A product liability approach may allow the courts to hold TikTok to account without violating Section 230, which is a free speech legal protection specific to the internet.
TikTok is not the first social media company to be sued for wrongful deaths. In 2021, Snapchat was sued over its speed filter.
AlthoughSnapchat removed the speed filter, critics say it encouraged reckless driving by users and caused several accidents and injuries.
Social Media Ripples Into Real Life
This is not the first tragedy where social media companies have been criticized for their role. But only the ruling will determine where the legal liability lies.
Regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome, we may see more apps change their policies to account for the risks associated with their product.
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