The parents of two girls who died after taking part in the blackout challenge have filed a complaint against the social network TikTok, which they accuse of revealing dangerous content.
If social networks are now part of the lives of millions of subscribers, the one that has found favor in recent years in the eyes of the youngest is none other than TikTok. Made particularly popular during confinement for its short videos in which users stage themselves, it is now the most used by those under 18. The problem is that some challenges performed by subscribers are particularly dangerous. As the blackout challenge, or the fainting game. Also known as the “scarf game” or the “Indian dream”, this consists of holding your breath as long as possible by blocking the flow of blood to the brain until you faint. The damage can be severe: this challenge results in the destruction of brain cells, which can cause lifelong mental disability or even death.
A dangerous game, popularized in playgrounds, which today worries the authorities because of its celebrity on TikTok. Indeed, in recent years, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recorded the death of at least 82 children and adolescents around the world from the consequences of this game, and brain damage to hundreds of others. . Recently, the parents of Lalani Erika Renee Walton, 8, and Arriani Jaileen Arroyo, 9, filed a complaint against the social network after the death of the two little girls who took up this challenge. The families thus accuse the TikTok algorithm of promote dangerous content.
They wanted to “become famous”
The HuffPost reveals that the complaint filed by Lalani’s family reads that the baby girl has been found “hanging from his bed with a rope around his neck by his stepmother“.”She thought that if she posted a video of herself taking up the blackout challenge, she would become famous. So she decided to try“, report his relatives. Arriani, she had used the dog leash to try to asphyxiate. According to lawyer Matthew Bergman, who specializes in defending victims of abuse related to the functioning of social networks, “TikTok must be held responsible for targeting these two young girls with deadly content“. In their complaints, the families of Lalani and Arriani also listed other dangerous challenges spotted on the social network, such as the “burning mirror challenge“, which consists of igniting a mirror with deodorant and a lighter, or that of boiling water, thrown on others or ingested.