Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Against Tiktok Over 10-Year-Old Girl’s Death

A federal appeals court ruled on Aug. 27 that the lawsuit brought by Tawainna Anderson against TikTok for her 10-year-old daughter’s death can continue. It found that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) does not shield TikTok from these kinds of lawsuits and partly reversed a district court ruling that upheld the CDA immunity. During oral arguments in January, counsel for Anderson argued that TikTok was not merely a publisher, as its sophisticated algorithm is known for its ability to recommend specific content to users. The app had promoted “blackout challenge” videos to 10-year-old Nylah Anderson’s curated “For You Page” (FYP), where users recorded themselves engaging in acts of self-asphyxiation, choking themselves until they passed out. Anderson argued in her lawsuit that TikTok’s algorithm determined this was content “well-tailored and likely to be of interest to 10-year-old Nylah Anderson, and she died as a result.” Nylah hung herself and died after watching the video....