The families of two young girls who died after attempting a viral 'blackout challenge' on TikTok have filed a lawsuit against the social media platform, alleging its algorithms promoted dangerous content. The suit, filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims TikTok's 'dangerous algorithm intentionally and repeatedly' pushed videos of the challenge into the children's feeds, leading to their deaths.
The victims are eight-year-old Lalani Erika Renee Walton of Temple, Texas, and nine-year-old Arriani Jaileen Arroyo of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both died in 2021 after participating in the challenge, which encourages users to choke themselves until they lose consciousness. According to the complaint, Lalani died on 15 July 2021, and police determined her death was 'a direct result of attempting TikTok's Blackout Challenge'. Arriani was found not breathing by her five-year-old brother on 26 February 2021 and later taken off life support.
The lawsuit, brought by the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), alleges TikTok knew the challenge was spreading on its platform but failed to act. 'TikTok needs to be held accountable for pushing deadly content to these two young girls,' said Matthew P Bergman, founding attorney of SMVLC. 'TikTok has invested billions of dollars to intentionally design products that push dangerous content that it knows is dangerous and can result in the deaths of its users.'
The complaint details how both girls became addicted to TikTok after receiving phones at a young age. Lalani, who received a phone for her eighth birthday in April 2021, began posting videos in hopes of becoming 'TikTok famous'. Her family noticed bruising on her neck weeks before her death, which she dismissed as an accident. On the day she died, she spent hours watching videos on a family road trip, including posts of the challenge. Arriani, who received a phone at age seven, used TikTok multiple times daily and became 'obsessive' about posting dance videos.
The lawsuit accuses TikTok of promoting harmful content, allowing underage users, and failing to warn about the app's addictive nature. It references other dangerous challenges that spread on the platform, including the 'milk crate challenge' and 'Benadryl challenge', which caused injuries and deaths. Attorneys claim TikTok prioritised profit over safety by allowing such content to proliferate, as it increased engagement and user numbers.
