The parents of four British teenagers who they believe died after taking part in viral trends that circulated on TikTok in 2022 are suing the platform. The lawsuit claims that Isaac Kenevan, Archie Battersbee, Julian “Jools” Sweeney, and Maia Walsh died while attempting the so-called “blackout challenge”. The US-based Social Media Victims Law Center filed the wrongful death lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance on behalf of the children’s parents. TikTok has not publicly commented on the matter.
The complaint states that ByteDance’s “engineered addiction-by-design and programming decisions” were “aimed at pushing children into maximizing their engagement with TikTok by any means necessary”, leading to “harmful dependencies” in the children. In response to the lawsuit, TikTok said it prohibits dangerous content or challenges on the platform, directing those who search for hashtags or videos to its Safety Centre. Moreover, since 2020, searches for videos or hashtags related to the challenge on TikTok are blocked.
In January 2024, a coroner concluded that Hollie Dance’s son Archie died aged 12 after a “prank or experiment” went wrong at their home in Southend-on-Sea in April 2022. Lisa Kenevan, mother of 13-year-old Isaac, had campaigned for raising awareness about potentially dangerous social media trends and their risks. TikTok faced legal action from Tawainna Anderson, suing the platform in 2022 after her 10-year-old daughter Nyla died after allegedly taking part in the blackout challenge.
The Social Media Victims Law Center is also supporting Ellen Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools died after participating in an online challenge, in her campaign called “Jools’ Law”. The new law would allow parents to access the social media accounts of their children if they die, adding a positive aspect to the tragic loss of life. The issue raised doubts about the future of TikTok in the US after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2021 to extend the deadline for the app’s ban in the country
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