Was TikTok Responsible For The Deaths Of These children?

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TikTok has recently made news for its controversial 'Blackout Challenge,' which has been accused by parents of directly causing the deaths of several young participants.

 

 'Blackout Challenge'? 

 

According to a CDC report, some part and form of the strange challenge have been circulating on the internet since 2008. According to another study conducted by the CDC, at least 82 young people have died as a result of participating in the risky challenge.

 

According to prior reports, the 'choking challenge,' also known as the 'pass-out challenge,' required competitors to hold their breath indefinitely until they passed out from a lack of oxygen. Earlier reports indicate that this 'choking challenge' which is also known as the 'pass-out challenge ', required participants to hold their breath continually luntil they passed out due to lack of oxygen.

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Following this terrible turn of events, the parents of the deceased juveniles filed a lawsuit against the massive social media site, saying that their children died of strangulation while completing the "blackout challenge." They accused the site of misleading and recruiting vulnerable children to the challenge by using the app to display footage of other participants.

 

Lawsuits 

 

According to The Verge, TikTok has faced multiple lawsuits from parents regarding this particular challenge. The suit claims that the video-sharing platform should have known that its product was delivering children with dangerous content. In particular, TikTok was accused of failing to take appropriate measures to stop the widespread sharing of such videos or warn children and their parents about their implications.

 

Guilty as charged?

 

In January, Italian prosecutors conducted an investigation into the sudden accidental death of a 10-year-old girl, who allegedly took part in the blackout challenge. The girl is said to have died in a Palermo hospital after being discovered by her five-year-old sister in the family bathroom.

This turn of events led to the European country temporarily blocking access to TikTok for users whose age is indefinite.

 

More so, a lawsuit was filed recently in Los Angeles accusing TikTok of deliberately using the Blackout Challenge to cause the death of an eight-year-old girl in Texas, as well as a nine-year-old girl in Wisconsin last year. 

 

According to a report by The Times of India, other children who have fallen victim to this 'dark' challenge in the past year(2021) include a 10-year-old in Italy, a 12-year-old in Colorado, and a 14-year-old in Australia, and a 12-year-old in Oklahoma.

 

TikTok Responds

 

Following the trail of accusations and ensuing lawsuits, a TikTok spokesperson was quoted as saying, "This disturbing 'challenge,' which people seem to learn about from sources other than TikTok, redates our platform and has never been a TikTok trend. On the other hand, we are committed to remaining vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would remove any related content immediately if discovered."