Five families from the UK are pursuing legal action against TikTok in a Delaware court, marking the first time British families have sued the social media company in American courts over the deaths of their children.
The Independent reports that five families from the UK have filed a lawsuit against TikTok in the United States, representing a significant legal challenge for the social media platform. The families are attending a hearing in Delaware, making history as the first British families to pursue legal action against the company in an American court over the deaths of their children.
Three representatives, Ellen Roome, Lisa Kenevan, and Liam Walsh, are attending the hearing on behalf of the five families involved in the case. The families are seeking answers about what their children were exposed to on the platform before their deaths. Roome expressed frustration about the situation, stating that parents should not be forced to travel across continents to confront multinational technology companies simply to discover what happened to their children before their tragic deaths.
The lawsuit contains serious allegations against TikTok, claiming that the platform’s algorithms promoted and amplified dangerous content to children. The families specifically cite material linked to the so-called Blackout Challenge. According to the legal complaint, this content contributed to the deaths of their children. The families further allege that TikTok has repeatedly declined to release critical data that would help them understand what content their children viewed during the period leading up to their deaths.
Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son Jools died in April 2022, believes her son’s death was connected to participation in an online challenge. In previous statements, Roome acknowledged her lack of awareness about the dangers present on social media platforms. She had assumed her son was viewing harmless content such as dance videos or innocent challenges. However, after her son’s death, she discovered the existence of significant amounts of harmful and illegal content on these platforms. Roome emphasized the urgent need for changes to online safety laws, expressing her desire to prevent other families from experiencing similar tragedies.
The hearing taking place represents a motion to dismiss, which constitutes a crucial procedural stage in the legal proceedings. If TikTok’s motion to dismiss is unsuccessful, the lawsuit will advance to the discovery phase. During discovery, TikTok could face legal compulsion to disclose internal records and provide data from the children’s accounts. Despite multiple requests from the bereaved families, they report that TikTok has not yet provided this information.
A spokesperson for TikTok issued a statement expressing sympathy for the families involved. The company stated that it strictly prohibits content that promotes or encourages dangerous behavior. According to the spokesperson, TikTok employs robust detection systems and dedicated enforcement teams to proactively identify and remove content that violates its policies. The company claims it removes 99 percent of rule-breaking content before it is even reported by users.
The TikTok representative also emphasized that the company complies with the United Kingdom’s strict data protection laws. Additionally, the spokesperson clarified that the Blackout Challenge has been blocked on TikTok since 2020. The company stated it has never found evidence that this challenge was trending on its platform and noted that the challenge existed before TikTok was created.
Beyond the American litigation, Ellen Roome has been actively campaigning in the UK for legislation known as Jools’ Law. This proposed law would require the automatic preservation of a child’s online data immediately following their death. The objective is to prevent the permanent loss of potentially critical evidence during the early stages of investigations and inquests into child deaths.
An amendment reflecting the principles of Jools’ Law has been introduced by Baroness Beeban Kidron to the Crime and Policing Bill. The bill is currently making its way through the British parliament and is scheduled for debate in the House of Lords later this month. This legislative effort represents a parallel track to the American lawsuit in seeking accountability and transparency from social media companies.
Roome reiterated the fundamental principle driving the families’ legal action, emphasizing that when a child dies, parents should not be required to travel to different continents to fight multinational technology companies for basic information about what happened to their child. The families are attending the Delaware hearing because they believe the data that could explain their children’s deaths has been deliberately withheld. They argue that if platforms have nothing to hide, they should willingly release the requested data.
Read more at the Independent here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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