PHILADELPHIA – The mother of a 10-year-old child who died in December as a result of attempting a “Blackout Challenge” she saw on social media app TikTok, has filed a civil suit against the company for survival and wrongful death in her late daughter’s name.
Tawainna Anderson (individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Nylah Anderson, a deceased minor) of Chester filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on May 12 versus TikTok, Inc. of Culver City, Calif. and its parent company ByteDance, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.
The suit says that Nylah Anderson, a 10-year-old who could speak three languages, enjoyed dancing to videos she saw on TikTok and shared the platform’s video content. In the beginning of December, the suit continues that Nylah saw the “Blackout Challenge”, which dared people to choke themselves until they nearly rendered themselves unconscious, in her personalized feed of recommended TikTok content.
“The TikTok defendants’ app and algorithm pushed exceedingly and unacceptably dangerous challenges and videos to Nylah’s ‘For You Page’ (FYP), thus encouraging her to engage and participate in the challenges. Only days before Nylah attempted the Blackout Challenge that killed her, the TikTok defendants’ algorithm presented Nylah with a similar choking challenge through her FYP, which entailed placing plastic wrap around her neck and holding her breath until a euphoric effect was achieved. The following day, the TikTok defendants’ algorithm thrust the Blackout Challenge onto Nylah’s FYP, encouraging Nylah to participate,” the suit says.
“The particular Blackout Challenge video that the TikTok defendants’ algorithm showed Nylah prompted Nylah to hang a purse from a hanger in her closet and position her head between the bag and shoulder strap and then hang herself until blacking out. On Dec. 7, 2021 Nylah attempted the Blackout Challenge she had seen on her FYP in her mother’s bedroom closet while her mother was downstairs. Tragically, after hanging herself with the purse as the video the TikTok defendants put on her FYP showed, Nylah was unable to free herself. Nylah endured hellacious suffering as she struggled and fought for breath and slowly asphyxiated until near the point of death.”
The plaintiff found her daughter unconscious and hanging in her bedroom closet by her neck from the purse strap, and immediately began performing emergency CPR on her daughter, in an attempt to resuscitate her while emergency responders were en route to her home.
“Three deep ligature marks were found on Nylah’s neck, suggesting that she struggled greatly to free herself from the perilous and terrifying position but was unable to do so. Nylah was emergently transported to Nemours DuPont Hospital in Delaware with the hope that she could survive the extreme injuries she sustained in this horrific event. After spending several days in the pediatric intensive care unit, all hope for Nylah was extinguished and on Dec. 12, 2021, 10-year-old Nylah Anderson succumbed to her injuries and died. This tragedy and the unimaginable suffering endured by plaintiff and Nylah’s family was entirely preventable had the TikTok defendants not ignored the health and safety of its users, particularly the children using their product, in an effort to rake in greater profits,” the suit states.
“The TikTok defendants’ intentionally manipulative app and algorithm thrust an unacceptably dangerous video that defendants knew to be circulating its platform in front of an impressionable 10-year-old girl. As a direct result of the TikTok defendants’ corrosive marketing practices, Nylah attempted the dangerous challenge and died as a result. As a direct and proximate result of the defendants’ carelessness, negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, willful and wanton conduct, strict liability, failure to warn and defective design, Nylah suffered serious, severe, disabling injuries including, but not limited to, her death resulting from asphyxiation by strangulation.”
The suit also mentions 22 other dangerous challenges it claims have trended on TikTok, including the “Fire Mirror Challenge,” which encourages viewers to spray a flammable liquid on a mirror and then set it on fire; the “Hot Water Challenge” which involves pouring boiling water on someone else and the “Fire Challenge”, encouraging users to light themselves on fire.
According to the plaintiff, TikTok influences the behavior of its users, especially children, to maximize profits and create addiction to the social media app, while discounting responsibility for its users’ safety, once again with a focus on children.
For counts of strict products liability, negligence, violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, wrongful death and survival, the plaintiff is seeking, jointly and severally, compensatory damages in an amount greater than the jurisdictional threshold plus costs of suit, severally as to each defendant for punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish it and encourage it and others from similar conduct, for delay damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and for such further relief as is just and appropriate under the circumstances.
The plaintiff is represented by Robert J. Mongeluzzi, Jeffrey P. Goodman, Samuel B. Dordick and Rayna McCarthy of Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky in Philadelphia and Shavertown, plus Mark A. DiCello of DiCello Levitt Gutzler, in Mentor, Ohio.
The defendants have not yet secured legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:22-cv-01849
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com