The page shows a string of videos that are curated by TikTok based on a user’s demographic, likes and prior activity on the app. In particular, the “For You” page of TikTok has been held responsible in the lawsuit. The lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance says “children died of self-strangulation while participating in TikTok’s ‘blackout challenge’, which encourages users to choke themselves with belts, purse strings or other similar items until passing out.” Similarly, Arriani was found unresponsive by her younger brother on 26 February after which she was rushed to the hospital but soon declared dead. Police investigations revealed that the death was a “direct result of attempting TikTok’s ‘blackout challenge’.

The most recent one was filed on Thursday by the parents of two young girls-Lalani Walton and Arriani Arroyo- who alleged that their daughters had died while attempting the ‘blackout challenge’ last year.Īs per the complaint, Lalani, from Texas, died on 15 July, 2021. Since the challenge involves strangulation, engaging in it could starve the brain of oxygen and hence result in suffocation, as per The Independent.Īccording to The Verge, the social media platform has faced multiple lawsuits from parents regarding this particular challenge. According to a report by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some form of the challenge has been circulating on the internet since 2008.Ī study carried out by the CDC suggests that at least 82 young people have died after participation in it.Īlthough the source of the viral trend is not known, a report in The New York Times stated that the challenge came under a spotlight after three children died in Italy last year.

Two person tik tok challenges