TikTok is being sued after two young girls were found dead by self-strangulation while allegedly taking part in a viral “Blackout Challenge” which encouraged users to choke themselves until passing out.
Lalani Erika Walton, 8, from Texas and Arriani Jaileen Arroyo, 9, from Milwaukee were both found dead after taking part in the online trend, according to the lawsuit.
Lalani’s step-mother Rashika Watson walked in and found Lalani hanging from her bed but still warm to the touch. Lalani had laid out her bathing suit in anticipation of going swimming later with Ms Watson.
Ms Watson called a neighbour who cut Lalani down and called 911.
The Clarksville police determined that Lalani died from self-asphyxiation as a direct result of attempting TikTok’s “Blackout Challenge.”
Arriani’s five-year-old brother discovered his sister’s lifeless body in her bedroom and called 911, and emergency services rushed her to Children’s Hospital, where doctors placed her on life support.
Testing revealed that Arriani had complete loss of brain function, and her family made the difficult decision to withdraw life support.
Their families are seeking an unspecified amount in damages and have requested a jury trial to take place in California.
The Social Media Victims Law Center a legal resource for parents of children harmed by social media addiction and abuse, announced that it has filed two wrongful death lawsuits blaming TikTok’s dangerous algorithm for intentionally and repeatedly pushed the deadly “Blackout Challenge” into both Lalani and Arriani’s TikTok “For You Page” incentivising them to participate in the challenge that ultimately took their lives.
“TikTok needs to be held accountable for pushing deadly content to these two young girls,” said Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of the centre.
“TikTok has invested billions of dollars to intentionally design products that push dangerous content that it knows are dangerous and can result in the deaths of its users.”
TikTok has been approached for comment.
