Parents sue TikTok after blackout challenge kills two girls: What could the platform have done to prevent deaths revealed

The "blackout challenge" that went viral on TikTok got the app in a soup after the parents of two children filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the platform. They claimed that their children lost their lives after participating in the ‘blackout challenge” they viewed on the app in 2021.

The two children were Lalani Erika Renee Walton, an 8-year-old girl from Temple, Texas, and Arriani Jaileen Arroyo, a 9-year-old girl from Milwaukee. They both died last year while attempting the challenge, according to the lawsuit.

The dangerous challenge involves people choking themselves until they pass out.

Previously, the mother of 10-year-old Nylah Anderson also sued the app and its parent company, ByteDance, in May 2021. She alleged that that the app “pushed exceedingly and unacceptably dangerous challenges” that led to the death of her daughter, who had attempted the viral challenge.

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Parents sue TikTok after their children died during “Blackout Challenge”

The lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of Los Angeles County alleges that the children were not searching for the challenge. Instead, TikTok’s algorithm intentionally and repeatedly pushed the blackout challenge on the girls "For You" page and motivated both children to participate.

According to the lawsuit:

“TikTok has specifically curated and determined that these Blackout Challenge videos — videos featuring users who purposefully strangulate themselves until losing consciousness — are appropriate and fitting for small children.”

The lawsuit further claims that Tiktok failed to take any "immediate and significant action" to counter the spread of the "blackout challenge." This has resulted in more injuries and deaths among children.

Investigations in the past have revealed that harmful content has made its way into the app. The TikTok algorithm is known to push videos related to s*x, alcohol, dr*gs and even eating disorders to minors.

TikTok spokesperson Mahsau Cullinane provided a statement previously issued by the company in December 2021. The statement read:

“This disturbing ‘challenge,’ which people seem to learn about from sources other than TikTok, long predates our platform and has never been a TikTok trend. We remain vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would immediately remove related content if found. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family for their tragic loss.”

Smith and Arroyo's suit states that since TikTok pushes and promotes these challenges, it has the duty to monitor the videos and challenges that are shared, posed or circulated on the app. This needs to be done so that such dangerous challenges aren't posted, shared, recommended or even circulated.

The lawsuit also sheds light on the fact that TikTok is aware that many of its users are under the age of 13 years. TikTok's user terms restrict its usage to people over the age of 13. The lawsuit brings action against the short-video sharing app on the grounds of defective design and a failure to warn.

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Lawsuits and fines faced by the company over the years

This is not the first time TikTok has been held accountable for the access children have to their platform.

TikTok paid $5.7 million to settle charges from the Federal Trade Commission, because it allowed children below 13 years to sign up without their parent's permission.

In 2020, the app introduced the 'Family Pairing' mode, which lets parents link their accounts to their kids to monitor the content they view and time spent on TikTok.