Warning: This article discusses content involving suicide and harm that some readers might find distressing.
Parents from five families in the United Kingdom have launched a landmark legal case against social media giant TikTok, claiming that content promoted by the app directly led to the death of their children.
Social media has played an increasing role in the lives of all individuals over the past two decades, yet one of the most alarming trends for many is how it is used by children and the content that they have access to.
It's part of the primary argument used by governments that have implemented various age verification bans in an attempt to limit what people can see on the internet, yet the popularity of platforms like TikTok and its algorithmically-driven feed remains a concern.
Advert
Recent legal challenges have seen parents accuse a number of different artificial intelligence companies of playing a direct role in the decision of their children to take their own life, and a landmark new case takes the fight to one of the biggest social media apps on the market.
As reported by the Independent, five British families are suing TikTok after claiming the app played a direct role in their death, and have traveled to Delaware this week for the hearing.
They claim that the app's algorithm promoted and amplified allegedly dangerous content onto their children's feeds, including one particular trend known as the 'Blackout Challenge' which involves intentionally restricting oxygen to your brain until you lose consciousness in the attempt to gain a temporary high.
Advert
Furthermore, the families have claimed that TikTok has repeatedly refused to share information regarding the content that their children were watching before their death, and have claimed that this data would prove vital to understanding what led to the tragic turn of events.
"In light of what's happened, I've learned an awful lot about online activity that I was very naive about before," illustrated Ellen Roome, one of the defendants and mother to 14-year-old Jools who died after taking part in one of the dangerous challenges.
"I thought Jools was merrily watching silly dance videos, or harmless challenges like standing on your hands and pulling your t-shirt upside down," she explained.
Advert
"I now known that there's masses of harmful and illegal content. [Online safety laws] can't come soon enough. I don't want any other family going through what we will have to for the rest of our lives."
The families have also decried the need to take up the legal challenge in America, with Ms Roome arguing that "parents should not have to cross continents to fight multinational technology companies just to find out what happened to their child."