Families Sue TikTok After Young Girls Died Attempting Viral 'Blackout Challenge'

According to a statement from the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), the wrongful death lawsuits were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of the Arroyo and Walton families. 

Matthew P. Bergman, the founding attorney of SMVLC, said that TikTok should be held accountable for the young girls’ deaths. 

“TikTok needs to be held accountable for pushing deadly content to these two young girls,” Bergman said. “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 SUED by parents of girls aged 8 and 9 ‘who accidentally hanged themselves after being bombarded with ‘Blackout Challenge’ clips by app’s algorithm’ https://t.co/t4e2PTfou8

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) July 4, 2022

Lalani from Tennessee passed away last July when she was found unconscious in her bedroom with a rope around her neck. According to the suit, when police searched her phone and tablet, they found she had been watching Blackout Challenge videos ‘on repeat.’

After receiving her first cellphone on her eighth birthday, Lalani downloaded TikTok and began posting videos of herself singing and dancing. 

Lalani’s mother, Christina Arlington Smith, and stepmother, Rashika Watson, were unaware that TikTok’s algorithm was directing her to its deadly “Blackout Challenge.”

The Clarksville Police determined that Lalani died from self-asphyxiation due to attempting the challenge. 

Arriani from Milwaukee passed away after being discovered by her father, Heriberto Arroyo, unresponsive in her bedroom. After being rushed to the hospital and placed on a ventilator, she was found to be brain dead and was later taken off life support.

The SMVLC said Arriani was an active child who enjoyed dancing and ballet. At seven, she began using TikTok and posting videos of herself dancing and singing. Although she gradually started participating in TikTok challenges, many only involved eating and dancing; therefore, Arriani’s parents did not consider them dangerous.

Blavity previously reported the lawsuit of a third child who also passed away from performing the viral TikTok challenge. Tawainna Anderson demands that the social media platform is held responsible for the death of her 10-year-old daughter, Nylah Anderson.

Nylah was discovered by her mother, Tawainna, in her bedroom closet, hanging from a purse strap. Immediately after her accident, Nylah was rushed to the hospital, where she died on Dec. 12.

“You never know what you might find on their phones. You wouldn’t think a 10-year-old would try this. They’re trying because they’re kids and they don’t know better,” Tawainna said. “This is a pain that won’t go away. It’s at the top of my throat. I am so hurt.”

In the blackout challenge, users choke themselves until they lose consciousness before uploading their results to TikTok. The scary challenge was also known as the “Pass out Challenge,” “The Fainting Game,” and “The Game of Choking.”

The Sun reports that millions of videos of people have attempted the challenge on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube since 2021.