Opinion | The Viral Blackout Challenge Is Killing Young People. Courts Are Finally Taking It Seriously. - The New York Times

Rarely will you read about a case with more heartbreaking facts. In 2021, a 10-year-old girl named Nylah Anderson was viewing videos on TikTok, as millions of people do every day, when the app’s algorithm served up a video of the so-called blackout challenge on its “For You Page.” The page suggests videos for users to watch. The blackout challenge encourages users to record themselves as they engage in self-asphyxiation, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness. Nylah saw the challenge, tried it herself and died. She accidentally hanged herself. The case is horrific and beyond devastating for her family, but it might also lead to meaningful legal reform. Thanks to a key court of appeals ruling, we may be on the verge of imposing some constitutional common sense on America’s social media giants. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, held that TikTok could be potentially liable for its own actions if it contributed to Nylah’s death, specifically the act of su

Rarely will you read about a case with more heartbreaking facts. In 2021, a 10-year-old girl named Nylah Anderson was viewing videos on TikTok, as millions of people do every day, when the app’s algorithm served up a video of the so-called blackout challenge on its “For You Page.” The page suggests videos for users to watch. The blackout challenge encourages users to record themselves as they engage in self-asphyxiation, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness. Nylah saw the challenge, tried it herself and died. She accidentally hanged herself. The case is horrific and beyond devastating for