Pa. Federal Wrongful Death Action Targeting TikTok ‘Blackout Challenge’ Dismissed

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing TikTok of causing the death of a 10-year-old girl who died after attempting to mimic a “Blackout Challenge” video she viewed on the social media platform, ruling that the company is immune under the Communications Decency Act.

In an Oct. 25 order, Judge Paul Diamond of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania explained that Section 230 of the Act shields publishers of third-party user content from liability.

TikTok is a social media platform that enables users to create short videos and view shared videos created …