Attorneys Take TikTok To Court

Lalani Erika Walton

The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the death of Lalani Erika Walton, 8, of Temple, Texas, who allegedly died of self-strangulation while participating in TikTok’s “Blackout Challenge.” The social media challenge propagated by users on TikTok encourages users to choke themselves with belts, purse strings, or other similar items until passing out, according to the SMVLC. The lawsuit alleges TikTok’s “dangerous algorithm intentionally and repeatedly pushed the deadly ‘Blackout Challenge’” into Lalani’s feed into her TikTok profile, the SMVLC alleges.