Four British families are suing tech giant TikTok over the alleged deaths of their children due to the platform, accusing it of "having no compassion." In an exclusive joint interview with BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg program, the parents stated they are taking the company to court in an attempt to uncover the truth behind their children's tragic fates and to hold the responsible parties accountable. They hope this legal action will shed light on the dangers their children faced online.
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02-11, 2025The parents believe their children tragically died after participating in a viral challenge that circulated on the video-sharing platform in 2022. The victims reportedly include 13-year-old Isaac Kenevan, 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, 14-year-old Julian "Jools" Sweeney, and 13-year-old Maia Walsh. They lost their lives while attempting the so-called "blackout challenge." TikTok stated that they prohibit dangerous content and challenges and have blocked searches for videos and hashtags related to the challenge that the children's parents claim is linked to their deaths, reinforcing their commitment to user safety.
During the interview, Ms. Kenevan accused TikTok of violating "their own rules." In the lawsuit, the families claim that the platform violated rules in several ways, including failing to display or promote dangerous content that could cause significant physical harm. Ms. Dance stated that the bereaved families have only received "the same corporate statement," indicating "absolutely no compassion – for them, the statement means nothing." This lack of empathy has further fueled their determination to seek justice.
Ms. Roome has been actively promoting legislation to allow parents to access their children's social media accounts after their death. She has been trying to obtain data from TikTok, which she believes could shed light on the cause of her son's death. Ms. Kenevan stated that they will pursue "accountability through the lawsuit – they need to focus not only on us, but also on parents around the world, not just in the UK, but also in the US and everywhere." She added: "We want TikTok to be transparent and help us – why hide data from us? How can they sleep at night?"
Mr. Walsh stated that he has "no confidence" in the British government's efforts to protect children's cybersecurity. Ms. Roome stated that she is grateful for the support given to her by other bereaved parents. She said: "You do have some particularly bad days – when you find it very difficult to function." The families' lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, claims that the deaths were "a foreseeable result of ByteDance's carefully designed addiction and programming decisions" designed to "drive maximum child engagement with TikTok by any means necessary." TikTok stated that it prohibits dangerous content or challenges on the platform and directs people searching for hashtags or videos to its Safety Center. The company told the BBC that it proactively finds and removes 99% of content that violates its rules before it is reported. TikTok claims it has met with Ellen Roome to discuss her case. It stated that it is legally required to delete personal data unless it receives a valid request from law enforcement before the data is deleted.
