UK parents sue TikTok for teen deaths related to online challenges

TikTok’s future in the United States remains up in the air as potential buyers battle it out in a bidding war. Meanwhile, another controversy has arisen involving the deaths of children and teenagers allegedly stemming from “challenges” on the platform. Parents based in the UK have sued TikTok through an American organization.

There have been multiple cases of teenagers dying due to allegedly participating in TikTok challenges. As the name suggests, “challenges” encourage users to perform a particular activity and share it with the community. However, many times, these activities can be harmful to health and even potentially fatal. They do not arise directly from TikTok but from its users. However, parents of the victims blame the app for recommending such content.

TikTok sued by UK parents over teen deaths allegedly caused by challenges

The US-based Social Media Victims Law Center is suing TikTok on behalf of the parents of four UK teenagers for allegedly involving TikTok challenges in the unfortunate incidents. The teens were Isaac Kenevan, Archie Battersbee, Julian “Jools” Sweeney, and Maia Walsh. The challenge that allegedly led to their deaths was the so-called “blackout challenge.”

The lawsuit claims that ByteDance designed TikTok to create “harmful dependencies in each child.” It also alleges that the platform has “flooded them with a seemingly endless stream of harms.” “These were not harms the children searched for or wanted to see when their use of TikTok began,” the filing adds.

On the other hand, TikTok claims that searches related to the “blackout challenge” have been blocked since 2020. Plus, the company actively bans any type of dangerous content. TikTok even redirects those who search for these types of trends to its “Safety Center.”

A mother wants parents to have access to their children’s social media accounts if they die

Ellen Roome, mother of “Jools,” has been trying to get TikTok to give her access to her son’s account. She wants to get more information about the real reason for his death. Roome suspects that the incident occurred while he was participating in a TikTok online challenge. However, the platform has not allowed her to access the account. So, she is promoting the “Jools’ Law,” which seeks to allow parents to access their children’s social media profiles if they die.

“[TikTok] could have handed over the data and said, ‘Here, bereaved parents, I hope you get some answers,'” Roome says. “It’s taking us going to court in the US to try to do that, and I think that’s morally wrong,” she added.

Dangerous challenges on TikTok do crop up from time to time, although they are now much less common. There was a time when they were emerging frequently, which led the company to strengthen its detection of harmful trends in 2021. The measures taken also include blocking all related searches.

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