TikTok taken to court by French families, a first in Europe

SOCIAL NETWORKS – Seven French families want to take the TikTok platform to court. They accuse the Chinese social network of exposing children to numerous videos promoting suicide, self-harm and even eating disorders.

As reported by franceinfo, the Algos Victima collective, within which the families are grouped, is suing TikTok this Monday, November 4 before the Créteil judicial court for having exposed their children to content that put them in danger. Which would be a first in Europe, according to their lawyer, lawyer Laure Boutron-Marmion.

Within the seven families in question, two teenage girls ended their lives when they were 15 years old. The parents of one of them filed a criminal complaint last year against TikTok, for “ provocation to suicide »« failure to assist a person in danger” et « propaganda or advertising of means of killing oneself.” Four other teenagers attempted to end their lives and one experienced problems with anorexia.

Content on suicide and scarification

For families, TikTok is responsible for amplifying children's discomfort, by showing them content on depression and even scarification. “ TikTok, the image I had of it, was dance videos, or makeup tutorials, but at no time did I tell myself that there were going to be videos that would explain how to take apart a blade on a pencil sharpener for making scarifications. It seemed inconceivable to me,” testifies the father of one of the teenagers to franceinfo.

The platform is accused of not having moderated content related to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. And also the absence of a moderation system so that minors are not confronted with this type of content. The objective is thus to recognize the responsibility of the social network in the deterioration of the mental and physical health of these children.

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