A family has accused TikTok of using location data to send their teen son “railroad-themed suicide” videos leading up to his death.
Over the last few years, TikTok has faced a handful of lawsuits from families claiming that videos on the platform led to the death of their children.
In early February, families of four different teenagers filed a lawsuit against TikTok over the viral ‘Blackout Challenge’ despite the trend predating the app by several years.
A new court filing claims that TikTok used location tracking to send 16-year-old Chase Nasca videos of “railroad-themed suicide” before he died by walking in front of a train.
Parents say teen was fed videos of suicide
According to The New York Post, Nasca’s parents have been fighting against TikTok since the teen died in 2022, arguing that the app’s “addictive algorithms” bombarded him with videos about suicide.
They believe that TikTok accessed the location data from Nasca’s phone to put “railroad-themed suicide” videos on his FYP before and after his suicide. According to the family, they live close to the raid road in Long Island, New York.
According to a filing on February 5, Chase “only sought out ‘uplifting and motivational’ videos” on his account when the app allegedly provided “Thousands of suicidal videos into his ‘for you’ page.”
Court documents added that TikTok “owed a duty of care to protect Chase Nasca from foreseeable injuries arising out of the normal and anticipated use of their social media products.”
Back in January, seven families in France filed a lawsuit against TikTok accusing the platform of failing to moderate harmful content.
“They hook children into depressive content to keep them on the platform, turning them into lucrative re-engagement products,” said one of the mothers.
Back in October, more than a dozen state Attorney Generals filed a lawsuit against TikTok claiming that beauty filters and auto scrolling harm kids using the app.