TikTok sued by 5,000 parents, claiming app is “poisoning America’s youth”

TikTok is being sued by 5,000 parents amid numerous complaints about the app and the death of several children due to viral trends on the platform.

TikTok is facing a massive lawsuit as 5,000 parents look to take action against the viral video-sharing app over its alleged effects on their kids.

ClaimsHero is representing these parents after TikTok included a provision in its user agreement in July 2023 that only allows plaintiffs to file a claim within one year of creating an account, or else risk losing their right to take action permanently.

ClaimsHero’s website claims that parents are eligible for up to $10,000 in damages, saying the app’s “search algorithm turns the platform into a drug – featuring relentless violent, sexual, and even suicidal content that targets children as young as 12 years old.”

Unsplash: Solen Feyissa

TikTok faces massive lawsuit from 5,000 parents

This massive lawsuit comes on the heels of a disturbing incident recounted by Brittany Edwards, who was notified by a friend that her 12-year-old daughter had posted a video on TikTok saying, “LOWKEY GONNA COMMIT Suicide.”

“My child literally did a 360, and all it took was for her to be glued to a phone,” Edwards said in a statement to the New York Post. “Somebody had to be held accountable for this. [ClaimHero’s] views were similar to mine in terms of how they felt about TikTok with the way it’s becoming addictive to kids.”

New York Post

“Given this limited window, it’s more urgent now than ever for parents and guardians to hold TikTok accountable so families like Brittany’s can pursue justice for the injuries caused by the most addictive app on the planet,” ClaimsHero founder Kelvin Goode told the Post.

This is far from the first time TikTok has faced legal action from concerned parents. In July 2022, two wrongful death suits were filed against the company following the deaths of young children who participated in the ‘blackout challenge’ that was going viral on the app.

Both the Utah and Iowa state governments have also levied lawsuits against TikTok, claiming the app harms children and “deceives” parents. 

In August of 2022, a judge notably approved a $92 million settlement as a result of a class-action lawsuit against TikTok that shook up the internet in 2021, which claimed the app had “violated federal and state law by collecting and using, without sufficient notice and consent, Plaintiffs’ personal data in connection with their use of the TikTok – Make Your Day video-sharing application.”

While the notion of the US outright banning TikTok has been quite prominent over the last few years, it looks like the parents represented by ClaimsHero are hoping to take a major stance against the popular — and controversial — app.