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France News Today

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Saturday, December 7, 2024

French Families Sue TikTok Over Teen Suicides

Published: 2024-11-04

In a groundbreaking legal move, seven French families have taken legal action against the social media platform TikTok, accusing it of contributing to the mental health decline of their children.

The families, united under the collective name Algos Victima, claim that TikTok's algorithm promoted harmful content related to suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders.

This legal action follows the tragic suicides of two teenagers, Charlize and Marie, both aged 15, and the attempted suicides of four others.

The families argue that TikTok's content exacerbated their children's mental distress, with one mother stating that the platform's algorithm worsened her daughter's depression by suggesting increasingly harmful content.

This lawsuit is among the first of its kind in Europe, although similar legal challenges have been made against social media platforms in the United States.

The families hope this action will lead to better content moderation on TikTok, which has over 21 million users in France.