If My Child Is Injured Doing a Social Media Challenge, Can I Sue?

By Rocky McElhaney | August 23, 2022

Kids do a lot of dangerous things. They put small items up their noses and in their mouths. They climb over furniture and run across the street without looking. And as any parent who’s ever uttered “If So-and-So jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” knows, they can sometimes egg one another on.

In 2008, at least 82 children died from “The Choking Game,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Child Injured social media challenge

The choking challenge or the blackout challenge is described by the CDC as a challenge which involves intentionally trying to choke oneself or another to obtain a brief euphoric state or “high.” This is extremely unsafe and often results in death or severe injury.

In 2021, the game resurfaced on TikTok as “The Blackout Challenge.” The media is currently covering tragic reports of children dying due to this and other social media challenges. Reports are viral regarding the heartbreaking stories of an 8-year-old girl from Milwaukee and a 9-year-old girl from Texas who both died in 2021 from the blackout challenge. Their parents are suing TikTok for wrongful death, claiming that TikTok knew this challenge was going viral and did nothing to prevent young children from viewing it.

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What are social media challenges?

Common Sense Media describes social media challenges as fads. People have always liked doing what the cool people are doing or wearing what the fashionable people are wearing. “Today, fads on social media can take the form of viral stunts captured on video. And since kids are sensitive to peer pressure and FOMO (fear of missing out), they’re often the first to want to try them. These stunts, also called “challenges,” range from harmless to horrifying.” The stunts can be silly, like the Mannequin Challenge, where people pretend to be mannequins. But the challenges can also be risky, destructive, or even dangerous. “In most cases, kids just watch them for entertainment on platforms like TikTok or YouTube. But sometimes, kids are inspired to try them and share their own videos of the results.”

Some of the most recent viral trends were the Coronavirus Challenge, where people were challenged to lick things in public to see if they would contract Covid 19. Challenges on TikTok and YouTube dared viewers to consume excessive amounts of Benadryl, or to eat Tide Pods to get high. The Skull Breaker Challenge, trending in 2020, went viral because people love a good wipe out. Three people would stand together, two of them would trick the other into jumping, and then kick out the legs of the jumping person, causing them to fall. The NY Post ran an article in 2020 stating that medical experts warn the Skull Breaker Challenge “could prove deadly to its teen participants.”

The lure of social media challenges

Healthy Children explains the lure of social media challenges:

Internet challenges can be fascinating to teens, who can be both impulsive and drawn to behavior that gets attention – especially in social media. Social media rewards outrageous behavior, and the more outrageous, the bigger the bragging rights. It’s a quick moving, impulsive environment, and the fear of losing out is real for teens. That environment plays into a teen’s underdeveloped ability to think through their actions and consequences.

Kids won’t necessarily stop to consider that laundry detergent is a poison that can burn their throats and damage their airways. Or that misusing medications like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can cause serious heart problems, seizures, and coma. What they will focus on is that a popular kid in class did this and got hundreds of likes and comments.

Sadly, the “likes” don’t fix irreparable damage done to their bodies or bring their lives back if the challenge kills them.

Can I sue if my child is injured doing a social media challenge?

Maybe, but it can be complicated. Lawsuits are being filed against TikTok for wrongful death due to irresponsibility of TikTok to monitor and/or restrict certain content. Additionally, lawsuits are targeting the way TikTok, and other social media outlets encourage or push viewers to view specific types of content based on their likes, views, and comments. It is all quite complicated and continues to evolve.

Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act, part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 protects social media outlets like TikTok stating that “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” When referring to TikTok Challenges, TikTok is protected by this Act because they did not create, publish, or speak on the videos that kids are choosing to imitate.

Holding schools and organizations accountable for social media challenge injuries

Most deaths and injuries resulting from social media challenges happen while a child is alone, so it is hard to assign liability. If an incident occurs while a child is with other people – at school, a daycare center, at another person’s house, or while engaged in afterschool activities – then you may be able to hold the school, center, organization, or other parties liable for failing to protect your children. Additionally, if an accident happens while on video with other parties, those participants can potentially be held responsible.

What can I do to protect my child from social media challenges?

Screentime, one of the many companies that offers parental controls for online activity, suggests that parents:

  • Stay calm but skeptical, don’t assume your child is jumping on the crazy challenge bandwagon.
  • Teach your child to think critically. Talk to them about the challenges and how someone may be trying to manipulate viewers to do crazy things. The best thing you can do is teach them common sense.
  • Restrict what they can do and see online. Use YouTube’s parental controls, only let young children use the YouTube kids app.
  • Limit online usage to when parents or guardians are home.
  • Be aware of what your kids are doing online.
  • Encourage children and teens to talk with you if they see something disturbing online.
  • Review the apps and games on your child’s devices and make sure location tracking is disabled.
  • Look for positive challenges family and friends can do. Help them resist the temptation to participate in risky challenges by offering opportunities for positive and healthy challenges.

If you believe your child was injured because of a social media challenge, the Nashville personal injury attorneys at Rocky McElhaney Law Firm are here to help. Our attorneys can  determine liability and make sure those responsible for the negligence in regard to your child’s well-being, safety, and life are held accountable. We work to ensure you and your child are compensated for any pain, suffering, or loss. Our hearts break knowing children are injured or die due to reckless social media content. We have offices in Nashville, Hendersonville, Murfreesboro and Clarksville. We want to help. Call our office at 615-425-2500, or submit our contact form to schedule a consultation.

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