In the summer of 2021, 15-year-old Marie, who lives in Cassis in Bouches-du-Rhône, published a video on the social network. tiktok. She explains how she is tired of being constantly made fun of because of her weight and how bad she feels. Unfortunately, like many young people Marie is a victim of bullying at school. A few weeks later, on September 16, 2021, the teenager’s parents found him dead in his room. He hanged himself.
Two years later, on September 8, the young girl’s father and mother filed a lawsuit. Complaint against TikTok. They accuse the social network of “inciting suicide,” “failing to help a person in danger,” and “propagating or advertising means of killing oneself.” They note that Marie saw it pop up on her profile right after she posted her video in 2021. several videos on the same themewhich would make him feel even worse.
Parents file complaint, accuse TikTok of being responsible for daughter’s suicide
Laure Boutron-Marmion, lawyer for Marie’s parents, explains: “TikTok has a share of the responsibility to take action. Platforms and social networks play a role in coping with a young person who is already extremely psychologically fragile due to the harassment he experienced.” In particular, he blames an “extremely powerful algorithm” that is demonstrably incapable of discrimination. At the time of publishing this article, TikTok has not commented on the complaint against it.
A family in England experienced a similar tragedy. A court order made last year following the suicide of 14-year-old Molly in 2017. social media algorithms. They were found to be partially responsible for the victim’s actions. The second one had received an email from, for example: on Pinterest He recommends reading “Ten Articles About Depression You May Like.” Note that TikTok has created a toll-free number to combat suicide.
Source : France Information