Mother sues TikTok after daughter died participating in ‘lBack out Challenge’

A mother is suing social media app, TikTok after her daughter died while trying a viral challenge called ‘blackout challenge’ that she found on the app.

The Pennsylvania mum, says her 10-year-old daughter choked herself to death after participating in the dangerous social media challenge and has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance.

In the lawsuit, Tawainna Anderson said her daughter, Nylah Anderson, participated in a ‘blackout challenge’ after it appeared on her ‘For You’ page in December

The ‘blackout challenge’ encourages users to try and hold their breath until they pass out, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Thursday.

In December 2021, Anderson rushed her daughter to the hospital after the girl actually blacked out.

Nylah spent nearly a week in a pediatric intensive care unit before she died from her injuries, the lawsuit said.

She accused TikTok of having a ‘defective design,’ and that the company’s algorithms are exposing young children to dangerous ideas.

‘The viral and deadly TikTok Blackout Challenge was thrust in front of Nylah on her TikTok For You Page … as a result of TikTok’s algorithm,’ the lawsuit said.

‘The TikTok Defendants’ algorithm determined that the deadly Blackout Challenge was well-tailored and likely to be of interest to 10-year-old Nylah Anderson, and she died as a result.’