Tracker Detail
Anderson v. TikTok Inc.
Name | Type | Government | Date Initiated | Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anderson v. TikTok Inc. | Litigation | United States | May 12, 2022 | Petition for Rehearing Denied | Oct 23, 2024 |
Summary
The mother of Nylah Anderson, a ten-year-old girl who died after attempting the so-called "blackout challenge" (an internet trend based around the choking game), filed a lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance over the social media company's role in the young girl's death. The suit alleges that the platform algorithmically promoted videos to a minor, related to the "blackout challenge," and that TikTok knew of the harmful content and failed to take necessary corrective action.
Updates
October 5, 2022. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed the complaint, ruling that TikTok was not liable for content posted to its platform by its users, given the immunization for social media platforms provided under Section 230.
August 27, 2024. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the district court’s decision, based in part on the recent Supreme Court NetChoice decision, which argued that “platforms engage in protected first-party speech under the First Amendment when they curate compilations of others’ content via their expressive algorithms," thus making algorithms subject to liability.
October 1, 2024. TikTok filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc, arguing the August decision by the Third Circuit conflicts with a prior decision by the court in Green v. America Online, 318 F.3d 465 (3d Cir. 2003).
October 23, 2024. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied TikTok's petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc on the basis that "no judge who concurred in the decision having asked for rehearing, and a majority of the judges of the circuit in regular service not having voted for rehearing."
