The parents of two girls who died of asphyxiation in the US have filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the social network’s algorithm of inciting their daughters to take part in the dangerous “blackout challenge,” which involves suffocation to unconsciousness .
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“TikTok must be held accountable for guiding these two young women into deadly content,” attorney Matthew Bergman, whose law practice specializes in defending victims of social media abuse, said this week.
“TikTok has invested billions of dollars developing products designed to distribute dangerous content, knowing it can kill users,” he said.
Chinese group ByteDance’s app did not respond to AFP’s attempt to contact them. In the past, he recalled that this “game” appeared before social networks.
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The “blackout challenge,” in which people hold their breath until they pass out to experience powerful sensations, causes accidents, sometimes fatally, every year.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles in late June, concerns the case of Lalani Walton, 8, and Arriani Arroyo, 9, who died after attempting the challenge.
“She thought that posting a video with the challenge would make her famous, so she decided to give it a try,” explains the complaint, referring to Lalani.
In both cases, Matthew Bergman’s office challenges the section where the app’s algorithm suggests videos based on user preferences.
The complaint mentions some of the challenges posted by users of the platform. “The extent of the damage caused by TikTok addiction is terrifying. It ranges from distraction at the expense of education, exercise and socialization to sleep deprivation, major depression, anxiety, selfharm and accidental death combined with the challenge of a power outage or suicide,” the attorneys in the lawsuit point out.
In January 2021, Italy temporarily banned access to TikTok for users whose age is not guaranteed, following the death of a girl who had participated in the Blackout Challenge.
In Brazil, the Ministry of Justice has opened a case to investigate whether the social network protects users from dangerous content. In June, the agency determined that the platform should remove inappropriate content for minors.