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TikTok Faces Lawsuit in France Over Harmful Content

French families sue TikTok, claiming its algorithm promoted harmful content leading to their children's mental health issues, including suicides.

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French

France

HealthFranceSocial MediaMental HealthLawsuitAlgorithmHarmful Content

TiktokAlgos VictimaMetaBytedanceSnap

Laure Boutron-MarmionMarie

What is TikTok's response to the lawsuit?: A collective called Algos Victima, founded by the families' lawyer, aims to hold social media companies responsible for the impact of their algorithms on users' well-being. They are pursuing legal action against TikTok to demonstrate this.
What is the goal of the Algos Victima collective?: The families claim that TikTok's lack of content moderation and addictive nature contributed to their children's mental health issues, and are seeking accountability from the social media platform.
How does TikTok's algorithm allegedly contribute to the harm?: The lawsuit targets TikTok's algorithm, which, based on user interactions, recommends similar content, potentially exposing vulnerable users to harmful material promoting self-harm, eating disorders, and suicide.
What is the main accusation against TikTok in the French lawsuit?: Seven families in France are suing TikTok, alleging its algorithm promoted harmful content leading to their children's mental health deterioration, including two deaths by suicide.
Are there other initiatives to address similar issues on social media?: While TikTok hasn't publicly responded to this specific lawsuit, they participated in a program called 'Thrive' with other social media companies to tackle harmful content, indicating awareness of the issue.

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