The parents of two young girls who purportedly perished as a result of a trending TikTok challenge have filed a lawsuit against the social media site, blaming its “dangerous” algorithms for their daughters’ passing.
Parents of girls who died while trying ‘blackout challenge’ sue TikTok
A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the Los Angeles county superior court on behalf of the parents of two girls who perished in the 2021 “blackout challenge” on TikTok, which urged users to choke themselves unconscious.
They claim that the platform’s “dangerous algorithm” intentionally and repeatedly pushed videos of the challenge into the children’s feeds, incentivizing them to participate in the challenge that ultimately claimed their lives.
The SMVLC is a legal resource for parents of children harmed by social media addiction and abuse.
Lalani Erika Renee Walton, 8, of Temple, Texas, one of the victims, is remembered as “an wonderfully sweet and extroverted young girl” who “liked dressing up as a princess and playing with cosmetics.”
According to the complaint, she passed away on July 15, 2021, as a “direct result of undertaking TikTok’s “Blackout Challenge,” as determined by authorities.
Lalani’s family started discovering bruises on her neck in July 2021, which she tried to explain away as an accident.
They had no idea that she had started the blackout challenge, which had initially appeared on her feed weeks earlier.
On the day of her death, Lalani had spent hours watching videos, including posts from the challenge, while traveling with her family.
