Can Social Media Companies Be Liable for Dangerous Online Challenges?

Yes, social media companies can potentially be liable when their platform design, recommendation systems, or other conduct causes injuries due to dangerous online challenges. While a platform isn’t automatically responsible every time a user is harmed by something posted online, the way a company selects and recommends content may be relevant.

If your child was injured after a social media platform recommended a dangerous challenge, get in touch with HGSK Injury Lawyers. Our PA personal injury lawyers can investigate what appeared in your child’s feed, how the platform delivered it, and whether the company’s own conduct may support your claim.

Social Media Platforms Do More Than Host User Videos

Social media companies don’t simply store videos for users to find on their own. Recommendation systems can select content and place it directly in a user’s personalized feed. That difference may be significant when a dangerous challenge reaches your child or another vulnerable user through repeated recommendations. A potential claim may focus on what the platform’s system did, rather than simply on the fact that another user created the video.

Anderson v. TikTok: A Child’s Injury at The Center of The Issue in PA

In Anderson v. TikTok, Inc., 116 F.4th 180 (3d Cir. 2024), Nylah Anderson, a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl, died after attempting the Blackout Challenge after viewing a video recommended to her through TikTok’s personalized For You Page. Her mother sued TikTok and ByteDance, alleging that TikTok’s algorithm recommended and promoted the dangerous challenge to minors, including Nylah.

The federal district court initially dismissed the case under Section 230, which generally protects social media platforms from liability for content created by their users. But it doesn’t necessarily prevent a claim that challenges the platform’s own conduct, such as the way its recommendation system promotes or delivers content.

The Third Circuit reversed in part, holding that the claims based on TikTok’s algorithmic recommendations were not barred by Section 230 at that stage of the case. The court treated TikTok’s algorithmic recommendations as the company’s own expressive activity rather than simply treating TikTok as the publisher of videos created by other users.

A Social Media Platform’s Own Design and Recommendation Choices Can Affect Liability

A claim against a social media company may examine whether the platform:

• Repeatedly recommended dangerous challenges to a particular user
• Used a user’s age or other information to recommend the content
• Designed features that promoted continued viewing or participation
• Continued recommending similar material despite known risks
• Used information about a user’s interests or behavior to deliver the challenge

The connection between those actions and the resulting injury can also affect your claim. For example, the evidence may look very different if your child independently searched for a dangerous challenge than if the platform repeatedly placed similar videos in your child’s personalized feed.

Digital Evidence Can Show How a Dangerous Challenge Reached Your Child

Screenshots, screen recordings, account information, viewing history, notifications, recommended videos, and messages can document what your child saw and how the content appeared. You should preserve this information as soon as possible. Online content can change, disappear, or become harder to retrieve, so early preservation can help establish what the platform actually recommended and what your child viewed.

Your Family May Have a Claim When Platform Conduct Contributes to an Injury

A social media company isn’t automatically liable because your child was injured after using its service. A potential claim may depend on the platform’s conduct, the relationship between that conduct and the injury, and the applicable state law. Anderson shows why those details deserve close attention in PA. The Third Circuit allowed claims based on TikTok’s alleged algorithmic recommendations to proceed past the Section 230 issue, while leaving the separate question of whether the alleged conduct actually violated state law for further proceedings.

Let Our Personal Injury Attorneys in PA Handle Your Case

When your child is seriously injured after a dangerous challenge appears in their personalized social media feed, the source of the content may be only part of the story. The way the platform selected, recommended, and delivered that content may be relevant to your claim. Call HGSK Injury Lawyers at 267-551-8782 or reach us online for your no-cost case review. Our PA personal injury lawyers can evaluate the available digital evidence, investigate the platform’s conduct, and determine whether the facts support a legal claim.