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TikTok must face a lawsuit for recommending the viral ‘blackout challenge’


It’s a significant data point on the potential limits of Section 230.

TikTok must face a lawsuit over the viral “blackout challenge” that several parents blame for their children’s deaths, a Pennsylvania-based appeals court ruled on Tuesday. 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. The Third Circuit’s opinion draws on Moody in its explanation of why TikTok should have to face a lawsuit from the mother of ten-year-old Nylah Anderson, who “unintentionally hanged herself” after watching videos of the so-called blackout challenge on her algorithmically-curated FYP.

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