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In a landmark legal move, seven French families have filed a lawsuit against TikTok, claiming that the platform's algorithm exposed their adolescent children to harmful content, leading to tragic outcomes, including the suicides of two teenagers at the age of 15. The lawsuit was announced on November 4 by the families’ lawyer, Laure Boutron-Marmion, who emphasised the severity of the allegations and the urgency of the situation.
The joint legal action is taking place in the Créteil judicial court and represents the first grouped lawsuit of its kind in Europe. The families allege that TikTok’s recommendation system promoted videos that encouraged suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders to vulnerable teenagers. Boutron-Marmion articulated the parents' concerns, stating, "The parents want TikTok's legal liability to be recognised in court." She further argued that TikTok, as a commercial entity providing a product aimed at consumers, including minors, must be held accountable for the perceived shortcomings of its platform.
The lawsuit gives rise to discussion around an issue which is becoming more troublesome – social media and its influence on the psyche of its youthful users. The social platform TikTok has been criticized lately for its content regulation frameworks and the effects created by its algorithm. TikTok is in a similar high-profile controversy like other social media behemoths such as Meta which owns Facebook, Instagram et cetera in that it is accused of drawing and keeping kids on the platform to the detrimental effects on their mental health.
The accusations against TikTok come at the same time as a much broader discussion about social media’s role in society and how it should protect children from its darker corners. Earlier pronouncements of TikTok also present them as a company that is responsive to issues pertaining to children and the psychological issues related to their use of the platform. In the US, CEO Shou Zi Chew underlined before Congress that there are tools in place to protect minors and that TikTok spends a lot of money on them.
This legal battle will expose the duties of social media employers about the content posted on their platforms and the safety of the contained users. Given the increase in psychological problems in youths across the globe, the ruling in this case could not only affect TikTok but also other such social media giants based in Europe and those operating within its borders.
This lawsuit is important in the ongoing debate which already exists, about the role of technology in the mental health of adolescents and the role of companies, in this case, self-control of social networks.
