In recent years, social media has transformed how people connect, create, and explore the world. Social media platforms, like TikTok, offer entertainment, community, and creativity. Although there are certainly positives to social media, these platforms also come with serious risks. Among the most alarming risks is the rise of dangerous viral trends that encourage self-harm and life-threatening behavior.
Below, we will go over the dangers of social media challenges, what we have learned from tragic cases involving minors influenced by social media, how algorithms may contribute to harm, and what can be done to protect children.
Understanding the Viral Challenge
The TikTok Blackout Challenge is a trend that circulated on TikTok and other platforms encouraging participants to choke themselves until they lose consciousness. The dangerous trend spreads through short videos, recommendations, and the algorithm pushing it onto possibly vulnerable users. The challenge has raised alarm after several tragic incidents involving children and teenagers. In some cases, young people attempted the challenge without truly understanding the risks, leading to injury or death. Legal actions, including complaints against TikTok, have highlighted a critical issues: platforms failing to control harmful content may contribute to real-world harm.
How the Algorithm Pushes Deadly Content to Minors
Algorithms power social media platforms like TikTok. They analyze user interests/behaviors to push out personalized content in feeds and recommendations. Of course, this can make the platform engaging, but it can also have dangerous effects.
Instead of filtering out content that encourages self-harm, algorithms may escalate it and continue to put it onto feeds based on engagement (likes, comments, and shares) without any regard to the age of users. This translate to the following:
- Content that appears to be “cool” or “thrilling” gets promoted, even if it involves harm.
- Minors who search or view risky content are fed even more of it through autoplay and suggestions/recommendations.
- Self-harm trends, like the Blackout Challenge, are tagged with innocent or misleading labels, enabling the spread.
Critics argue that TikTok’s recommendation system pushed harmful content to minors, compounding the dangers of the challenge. Some complaints against the platform allege that the company failed to take sufficient steps to block, label, or remove content that encourages self-harm.
There have been reports of the deaths of at least 15 children under the age of 12 since 2021. Fatalities have also been reported in older teens. Cases representing minors harmed by the dangerous challenge illustrate how quickly viral content can escalate from trend to tragedy. Although platforms may claim to moderate harmful content, blind spots in the algorithm may still allow dangerous content to reach impressionable youth.
Recognizing Signs of Risky Behavior on TikTok and Self-Harm
Exposure to harmful content may lead to behavioral changes and warning signs, such as the following:
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Withdrawal from family intersections
- Sudden secrecy about phone or app usage
- Fixation on specific challenges/trends
- Mood swings after social media use
- Interest in videos/content that depict self-harm or dangerous stunts
Recommendations for Parents and Guardians
Although parents and guardians may try to keep youth off social media as long as possible, doing so is not always possible. There are practical strategies that can help monitor and guide safe app usage. Consider the following recommendations:
- Establish open communication with the child. Talk about what they see online. Ask them questions to understand their interests and concerns.
- Be familiar with the platform. Understand how content recommendations work and what your child is likely to encounter online.
- Use parental control tools, including but not limited to screen time limits, content filtering settings, and restricted access to certain video categories.
- Review privacy settings together. Ensure that their accounts are private, that location settings/sharing is turned off, and messaging options are limited.
- Co-watch and co-engage the content. Watch videos together and ask questions, including what they think/feel about the videos.
Most importantly, parents/guardians should encourage safer alternatives to social media. This may include apps designed for creative expression without any addictive feeds, offline activities like sports, reading, and other hobbies, and in-person peer interactions. While it is not always possible to get young people off social media, it is important to encourage them to use platforms in a safe manner.
The Blackout Challenge Highlights the Need for Changes
The challenge highlights concerns about social media liability, specifically for amplifying harmful behavior to vulnerable users. Experts, lawmakers, and advocates have called for reforms, which include the following:
- Stronger age verification and safety guidelines for minors
- Transparent algorithm with accountability for dangerous outputs
- Mandatory reporting of self-harm content
- Removal of self-harm content
- Clear liability standards for platforms that profit from the algorithm
In addition to protecting children, these changes can create a safer online environment for all.
A Summary of Legal Accountability of Victim’s Rights after Harm Related to Social Media
When a child or teen is harmed after attempting a viral trend like the Blackout Challenge, there may be legal grounds to pursue compensation specifically when a social media platform’s design, promotion, or failure to remove dangerous content ultimately contributes to harm. In lawsuits involving this challenge, plaintiffs have argued that TikTok did more than just passively host self-harm content, but that it actively recommended and amplified the dangerous content to minors.
In general, claims may involve the following:
- Negligence
- Product liability (including defective design)
- Wrongful death claims
- Failure to warn
The entities that could face liability could include the social media company, any parent company or affiliated company, third-party creators that originated or monetized the challenge, and more.
Injured victims and their families could have the right to sue for monetary compensation, including but not limited to medical expenses, pain and suffering, wrongful death benefits, legal fees, and more.
Contact the Normandie Law Firm Today
Our team has decades of experience and is more than ready to help you pursue a claim. Parents and guardians may feel helpless after their child suffered harm due to a social media trend. However, it is important for parents to understand that they could hold all responsible parties/entities accountable. If you are in need of legal help, contact our team today. We offer free case reviews, which include free consultations and free second opinions. During these free legal services, our team will be available to answer all your questions, address all your concerns, and provide you with all the information that you need to start or continue your claim. We work on a Zero-Fee Guarantee, meaning that you will not have to worry about paying upfront legal costs for any legal services. In addition, we work on a contingency basis, meaning that you will not pay anything at all if your claim is not successful.
Whether you are looking to file a claim or are simply looking for information about your rights, our firm can help you.
