Seven Families Sue TikTok in France for Involvement in Child Suicides
Seven families have filed a lawsuit against TikTok in France, accusing the platform of failing to moderate harmful content and putting children in danger of death. This was reported by ABC News.
Three years ago, Stephanie Mistre found her 15-year-old daughter Marie lifeless in her bedroom, where she had committed suicide. Investigating the child's phone after her death, the mother found videos promoting suicide methods, tutorials, and comments encouraging users to go beyond ‘simple suicide attempts.’ She says that TikTok's algorithm repeatedly pushed her daughter towards such content.
Mistre believes that putting the app ‘in the hands of a sensitive teenager who doesn't know what's real and what's not is like a ticking time bomb.’
Another child, Marie Le Tiec, made several videos before committing suicide, in which she quoted a song by the Suicideboys, a band popular on TikTok.
Her mother also claims that her daughter was repeatedly bullied and harassed at school and online. In addition to the legal action, the 51-year-old mother and her husband have filed a complaint against five of Marie's classmates and her previous school.
Mistre and six other families sued TikTok France, accusing the platform of failing to moderate harmful content and putting children in danger of losing their lives. Two of the seven families had experienced the loss of a child.
When asked about the lawsuit, TikTok said that its policies prohibit any suicide promotion and that the company employs 40,000 trust and safety professionals around the world, hundreds of whom are French-speaking moderators who remove dangerous posts.
The company also stated that it refers users seeking suicide videos to mental health services.