TikTok has filed a lawsuit over harmful content linked to teen suicides

Tech and startup desk

Mon Nov 4 2024 3:45 PM Last updated: Mon Nov 4 2024 15:51

In this case, parents claim that the platform’s algorithm directed their children, all minors, to harmful content that promotes self-harm, eating disorders and suicide. Image: Dado Ruvic/Reuters

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In this case, parents claim that the platform’s algorithm directed their children, all minors, to harmful content that promotes self-harm, eating disorders and suicide. Image: Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Seven French families have filed a lawsuit against social media platform TikTok, accusing the company of exposing their teenage children to content that allegedly contributed to the decline of their mental health, and for two of them caused suicide.

In a case filed in the French court in Créteil, the parents allege that the platform’s algorithm led their children, all minors, to harmful content that promotes self-harm, eating disorders and suicide. Tragically, two of the children died by suicide at the age of 15, said Laure Boutron-Marmion, the lawyer representing the families.

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According to a Reuters report on the matter, Boutron-Marmion stated that this lawsuit marks the first concerted legal action in Europe aimed at holding TikTok accountable for the impact of its content algorithm on minors.

“The parents want TikTok’s legal liability to be recognized by the court,” the lawyer told France Info, a French public radio broadcaster, explaining: “This is a commercial company that offers a product to consumers who are also minors are. therefore, accountable for the product’s shortcomings.”

The lawsuit further intensifies scrutiny of TikTok and other social media giants regarding their content moderation policies and potential impact on young users, Reuters says. ByteDance-owned TikTok has repeatedly faced criticism over its policing of its content and its effect on the mental well-being of its predominantly young user base. It joins Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, both of which are facing hundreds of lawsuits in the United States for allegedly addicting millions of children to their platforms and in turn damaging their mental health.

TikTok could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment. However, according to the Reuters report, the company has previously emphasized its commitment to protecting young users on its platform. Earlier this year, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew assured US lawmakers that the company was investing in measures to protect children’s mental health.