The parents of four British teenagers who believe that their children died after participating in viral trends (challenge) that circulated in Tiktok in 2022 have sued the video exchange platform.
According to parents, the children, Isaac Knevan, Archie Battersbee, Julian “Jools” Sweeney and Maia Walsh, died while trying the trend called “Blackout Challenge.”
BBC reports that the Victims Law Center for Social Networks based in the United States filed the demand on Thursday against Tiktok and its Matrix Bytedance company on behalf of children's parents.
Meanwhile, searches for videos or hashtags related to the challenge on Tiktok have been blocked since 2020.
Tiktok had clarified that it prohibits dangerous content or challenges on the platform, and directs those looking for hashtags or videos to their security center.
The complaint was filed in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware on behalf of Isaac's mother Lisa Kenevan, Mother Hollie Dance of Archie, Jools's mother, Ellen Roome and Maia's father, Liam Walsh.
He states that the deaths were “the foreseeable result of the addiction to the design of the byte, the programming and programming decisions”, which were “destined to push children to maximize their commitment to Tiktok by any necessary means.”