How TikTok Escaped Legal Liability In Viral 'Blackout Challenge' Choking Game Death Lawsuit

TikTok will not be held liable for the death of 10-year-old Nylah Anderson, who died after playing the viral choking game known as the "Blackout Challenge."

Judge Paul Diamond dismissed the lawsuit on Tuesday, stating TikTok was shielded from responsibility for the death under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

"Nylah Anderson's death was caused by her attempt to take up the 'Blackout Challenge,'" Diamond wrote in the decision.

"Defendants did not create the Challenge; rather, they made it readily available on their site. Defendants' algorithm was a way to bring the Challenge to the attention of those likely to be most interested in it. In thus promoting the work of others, Defendants published that work—exactly the activity Section 230 shields from liability.

He added, "The wisdom of conferring such immunity is something properly taken up with Congress, not the courts.

The girl's mother, Tawainna Anderson, filed the lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance in May, accusing the social media app of negligence after its algorithm showed Nylah the "Blackout Challenge."

"The viral and deadly TikTok Blackout Challenge was thrust in front of Nylah on her TikTok For You Page ("FYP") as a result of TikTok's algorithm, which according to the TikTok Defendants, is 'a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user...each person's feed is unique and tailored to that specific individual,'" Tawainna Anderson's legal team alleged in the lawsuit.

Nylah Anderson was rushed to the hospital on Dec. 7, 2021, after her mother found the child in a bedroom hanging from a purse strap she used to choke herself. Nylah Anderson died from her injuries five days later.

Following Judge Diamond's ruling, Jeffrey Goodman, an attorney representing Tawainna Anderson, said the family would "continue to fight to make social media safe so that no other child is killed by the reckless behavior of the social media industry."