TikTok Being Sued by Parents of Children Who Died Attempting Blackout Challenge

[Reporter/Narrator]: …says the lawsuit claims a social media giant conceals the dangers of its app, especially to children. 8-year-old Leilani Walton, 9-year-old Ariana Arroyo. Two little girls, fatal victims, attorney Matthew Bergman says, of TikTok’s dangerous design

[Matthew Bergman]: You wouldn’t put your 16-year-old child in a car with 400 horsepower, no seat belts, and bad brakes. Well, it’s kind of the same thing

[Reporter/Narrator]: Bergman’s six-month-old Social Media Victims Law Center represents the families of the two girls who died after attempting the so-called blackout challenge where people are dared to choke themselves to unconsciousness. A lawsuit filed Friday in LA County against TikTok, with its headquarters in Culver City, and its parent company ByteDance, alleges the app’s algorithms exploit users under 18 whose brains aren’t developed enough to control their impulses or emotions. Bergman says TikTok hides the dangers to children and parents.

[Matthew Bergman]: They deliberately target children, even children under 13. They design products to be addictive and particularly addicted to children.

[Reporter/Narrator]: Dangerous and destructive dares have shown up on TikTok and other apps for years. In Huntington Beach in April, a minor was cited by police for shooting another minor in the face with a gel water pellet. Part of an online trend seen in these videos. And students in Santa Clarita schools last year trashed bathrooms as part of a viral social media stunt. TikTok’s terms and conditions require users to be at least 13 years old. This page on its website asks users to consider if a challenge is harmful before trying it. But Bergman says that’s not nearly enough. He wants the site and others to moderate content based on age.

[Matthew Bergman]: It cannot be coincidental that there’s been so many children that have been confronted with this blackout challenge. I mean, what is it about the design of an algorithm that connects children to this kind of dangerous content?

[Reporter/Narrator]: He’s not alone in thinking companies can do more. California lawmakers are right now considering two bills focused on how social media companies connect with children. One would require every website to actually verify a viewer’s age before allowing access. The other would allow parents to sue social media companies if their children get addicted.