TikTok must face a lawsuit for recommending the viral ‘blackout challenge’
www.theverge.com
It’s a significant data point on the potential limits of Section 230.

TikTok has to face a lawsuit from the mother of 10-year-old Nylah Anderson, who “unintentionally hanged herself” after watching videos of the so-called blackout challenge on her algorithmically curated For You Page (FYP). The “challenge,” according to the suit, encouraged viewers to “choke themselves until passing out.”

TikTok’s algorithmic recommendations on the FYP constitute the platform’s own speech, according to the Third Circuit court of appeals. That means it’s something TikTok can be held accountable for in court. Tech platforms are typically protected by a legal shield known as Section 230, which prevents them from being sued over their users’ posts, and a lower court had initially dismissed the suit on those grounds.

  • null@slrpnk.net
    7·
    3 months ago

    My own belief is that all social media is a cancer, and to be avoided entirely. I’m able to do that for myself

    You just posted this to a social media site…

    • Scary le Poo@beehaw.org
      2·
      3 months ago

      Come on dude, you know exactly what he meant. Social media is a broad category, but when someone mentions it in this context, it’s very clear what they mean.

      • null@slrpnk.net
        3·
        3 months ago

        I disagree. I don’t think it’s clear at all what he considers dangerous about social media if he’s excluding things like Lemmy, Reddit, and other message boards.