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.

“We appreciate the Delaware Superior Court’s careful attention to the arguments presented yesterday,” said Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, in a statement to Fast Company.

“The families we represent have waited far too long for accountability, and they deserve the opportunity to uncover how and why TikTok’s product targeted their children with this deadly Blackout Challenge content.”

Bergman continued: “We look forward to a ruling that allows this case to move forward into discovery so we can finally hold TikTok responsible for the harms its platform has inflicted on these kids and their families. Justice won’t be fully served until these families have their day in court.”

Fast Company has reached out to TikTok for comment.

The bereaved parents say they hope the lawsuit will bring accountability and clarity around their children’s death.

Ellen Roome, the mother of Jools Sweeney, has been campaigning for legislation, called Jools’ Law, since her 14-year-old son’s death in 2022. The campaign calls for the automatic preservation of a child’s online and social media data within five days of death.

“Without preserved digital evidence, harm to children cannot be properly examined, and social media companies cannot be held to account,” the campaign website reads.

The parents still don’t know what their children were exposed to on the social media platform, alleging that TikTok won’t release the information. TikTok’s community guidelines prohibit videos “depicting, promoting, normalizing, or glorifying dangerous acts that may lead to serious injury or death.”

In a statement posted to social media, Roome wrote: “We now have to wait for the judge to decide whether the case is dismissed or whether we are allowed to proceed to the discovery stage.

“For the court, this is about motions and procedures. For us, it is about our children. Our dead children.”