Parents of deceased children sue TikTok over dangerous appeal, platform denies liability
The parents of four British children who tragically died have decided to take legal action against the popular social network TikTok and its parent company ByteDance. They believe their offspring lost their lives because of a dangerous viral challenge known as the “blackout challenge”. This challenge involves briefly restricting oxygen to the brain until complete loss of consciousness, which can lead to serious health consequences, including death.
The lawsuit is primarily aimed at gaining access to the deceased children’s records, which could shed light on the circumstances of their deaths. The parents believe that their children have seen the videos associated with the challenge on TikTok and were directly or indirectly encouraged to try them. Although they are seeking legal redress, their efforts may come too late. A TikTok representative suggested that data that could provide answers may have already been deleted.
Unexplained deaths and the fight for access to data
The lawsuit was filed by the parents of Isaac Kenevan, Archie Battersbee, Julian “Jools” Sweeney, and Maia Walsh, who were between twelve and fourteen years old at the time of their deaths. In addition to the lawsuit, Julian Sweeney’s mother, Ellen Roome, is trying to push for “Jools’ Law,” which would allow parents to access their children’s social media accounts in the event of their deaths. Roome said the current legislation makes it difficult for bereaved families to get any information about what their children were watching online or who they were communicating with.
In an interview with the BBC, TikTok’s government relations manager Giles Derrington suggested that even if the lawsuit were successful or the law were changed, it might not help parents. He said TikTok must periodically delete certain information to comply with data protection laws. “We always try to provide as many answers as we can, but there are things we simply don’t have anymore,” Derrington said.
He also pointed out that there are strict legal requirements for storing and deleting user data. “Under the Data Protection Act we have to delete some information quite quickly, which affects what data we can access and what we can provide to parents,” he explained.
TikTok defends itself, parents insist
In their lawsuit, filed through the US-based Social Media Victims Law Center, the parents claim TikTok violated its own rules. Its algorithm, they say, recommended content associated with dangerous challenges to children when it should have been blocking such material.
TikTok, however, defends itself, saying it began deleting videos related to the blackout challenge in 2020, two years before the tragic events. “We have never seen the blackout challenge as a mass trend on our platform,” Derrington said. He also pointed out that TikTok has been actively blocking any attempts to search for the term and its variants since 2020 to prevent the spread of similar content. “We don’t want that kind of material on TikTok, and we know our users don’t want it either,” he added. Despite these measures, parents of children believe TikTok could have done more to protect minors. “If social networking algorithms didn’t push dangerous content, our children could be here today,” said one mother.
Pressure is growing to regulate social networking sites
This case is part of a wider debate about the regulation of social networks and their responsibility for the content they display. Critics point out that the algorithms of TikTok and other platforms often favour viral content without regard for its safety. While TikTok argues its safety measures, opponents call for tighter controls and greater transparency.
The case is being watched not only by lawyers and regulators, but also by other parents who are concerned about their children’s safety online. Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, pressure on social networks to protect young users can be expected to grow in the coming years.
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