Get the latest tech news
Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Proceeds Against TikTok and Instagram-Nazario v. Bytedance
This case involves the deadly practice of “subway surfing.” The plaintiff in this case claims her son died doing subway surfing that he tried only because he was encouraged by TikTok and Instagram videos. The court largely rejects the social...
In a footnote, the court distinguishes the Lemmon case because the plaintiff doesn’t allege that “the applications’ add-on features, in and of themselves, inspired Zackery to engage in the dangerous activity.” (In contrast to Snap’s speed filter, which allegedly motivated users to drive at excess speeds). To get around this, the court restyles the argument as being about product design and failure to warn: “plaintiff asserts that the social media defendants should not be permitted to actively target young users of its applications with dangerous “challenges” before the user gives any indication that they are specifically interested in such content and without warning.” As always, I ask: what is the product, and warn about what? The court says the claims for product liability, negligence, and wrongful death survive the motion to dismiss.
Or read this on r/technology
