Data of four dead British teens may have been removed, says TikTok
A TikTok executive has said data being sought by a group of parents who believe their children died while attempting a trend they saw on the platform may have been removed.
They are suing TikTok and its parent company Bytedance over the deaths of Isaac Kenevan, Archie Battersbee, Julian "Jools" Sweeney and Maia Walsh - all aged between 12 and 14.
The lawsuit claims the children died trying the "blackout challenge", in which a person intentionally deprives themselves of oxygen.
Giles Derrington, senior government relations manager at TikTok, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We always want to do everything we can to give anyone answers on these kinds of issues but there are some things which we simply don't have."
Speaking on Safer Internet Day, a global initiative to raise awareness about online harms, Mr Derrington said TikTok had been in contact with some of the parents, adding that they "have been through something unfathomably tragic".
In an interview on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the families accused the tech firm of having "no compassion".
Ellen Roome, mother of 14-year-old Jools, said she had been trying to obtain data from TikTok that she thinks could provide clarity on his death. She is campaigning for legislation to grant parents access to their child's social media accounts if they die.
"We want TikTok to be forthcoming, to help us - why hold back on giving us the data?" Lisa Kenevan, mother of 13-year-old Isaac, told the programme. "How can they sleep at night?"
Asked why TikTok had not given the data the parents had been asking for, Mr Derrington said:
"This is really complicated stuff because it relates to the legal requirements around when we remove data and we have, under data protection laws, requirements to remove data quite quickly. That impacts on what we can do.
"We always want to do everything we can to give anyone answers on these kinds of issues but there are some things which simply we don't have," he added.
Asked if this meant TikTok no longer had a record of the children's accounts or the content of their accounts, Mr Derrington said: "These are complex situations where requirements to remove data can impact on what is available.
"Everyone expects that when we are required by law to delete some data, we will have deleted it.
"So this is a more complicated situation than us just having something we're not giving access to.
"Obviously it's really important that case plays out as it should and that people get as many answers as are available."
The lawsuit - which is being brought on behalf of the parents in the US by the Social Media Victims Law Center - alleges TikTok broke its own rules on what can be shown on the platform.
It claims their children died participating in a trend that circulated widely on TikTok in 2022, despite the site having rules around not showing or promoting dangerous content that could cause significant physical harm.
While Mr Derrington would not comment on the specifics of the ongoing case, he said of the parents: "I have young kids myself and I can only imagine how much they want to get answers and want to understand what's happened.
"We've had conversations with some of those parents already to try and help them in that."
He said the so-called "blackout challenge" predated TikTok, adding: "We have never found any evidence that the blackout challenge has been trending on the platform.
"Indeed since 2020 [we] have completely banned even being able to search for the words 'blackout challenge' or variants of it, to try and make sure that no-one is coming across that kind of content.
"We don't want anything like that on the platform and we know users don't want it either."
Mr Derrington noted TikTok has committed more than $2bn (£1.6bn) on moderating content uploaded to the platform this year, and has tens of thousands of human moderators around the world.
He also said the firm has launched an online safety hub, which provides information on how to stay safe as a user, which he said also facilitated conversations between parents and their teens.
Mr Derrington continued: "This is a really, really tragic situation but we are trying to make sure that we are constantly doing everything we can to make sure that people are safe on TikTok."
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via BBC Action Line
Archie Battersbee died in prank gone wrong - coroner
Bereaved mum's social media battle to be debated by MPs
Dad wants to see daughter's Tiktok after death
TikTok sued by parents of UK teens after alleged challenge deaths
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Teen shot dead in alley three days after graduation
CHICAGO (WGN) — A recent graduate of a high school in the city's Auburn Gresham neighborhood was gunned down in an alley in West Pullman early Sunday, according to police. De'Angelo Miles, 17, a graduate of Hansberry College Prep., was found in an alley on the 11900 block of South Wallace Street with a gunshot to his head shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday. Police said a witness found the teen in the alley after hearing gunshots. Efforts by responding officials to save him were not successful. 'Our hearts are heavy as we grieve his passing. We extend our deepest sympathies and offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss,' school officials said in a statement posted to social media. The statement confirmed that Miles was a recent graduate of the school and added that counselors were made available Monday to provide support and assistance to anyone in need. Hansberry College Prep held commencement last Thursday. Miles had plans to join the US Navy this summer. 'I would say these last 24 hours have been shock, anger, grief,' said school principal Kashawndra Wilson. 'Every grade level has been impacted by this. … He was literally a light and a leader in the building.' Wilson described Miles as a charismatic and a warm-hearted young man who was well-loved. 'I always told him he was destined to be on someone's TV,' she said. 'He was the one that would make the TikTok's for our school (and) would do the interviews of different students for the school.' Friends told WGN that Miles funny, fun-loving and didn't cause problems. 'He was just joy to be around at all times,' said classmate Sirmetrict Scott. In the wake of his friend's death, Scott shared a message to the youth in the city: 'Be safe. Know who y'all going outside with. … Be outside with people who want to see better for you and who want to see you make it home.' Wilson, the principal, said the school plans to honor Miles next week with a memorial and balloon release. 'This is a time when we have to love on our babies,' she said. 'We have to ensure sure that they have the support they need.' No one was in custody in connection with the crime as of Monday afternoon, police said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Avery Woods posts video wearing necklace in honor of Emilie Kiser's son Trigg
Avery Woods has returned to TikTok following the death of her best friend's son. The TikTok influencer is known, in part, for her friendship with fellow influencer Emilie Kiser. Woods has remained off social media since the news of Kiser's son's death. Trigg, 3, was discovered unconscious in his family's pool May 12, according to 12 News. Six days later, Chandler police confirmed Trigg's death on May 18 in a statement shared by spokesperson Sonu Wasu, according to Arizona Republic. According to the news outlet, Wasu said those at the home were found performing CPR on the child until first responders arrived at the scene. Trigg was taken to Chandler Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Phoenix Children's Hospital, Arizona Republic reported. 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the child's family and loved ones during this unimaginable time,' Wasu said in the statement to the news outlet. An investigation remains ongoing. On Monday, June 2, Woods returned to social media sharing a 'get ready with me' video. Woods didn't say anything, instead put makeup on while music played in the background. She was also seen wearing several necklaces. One necklace was a pair of angel wings. The other was a silver necklace with a round pendant. Etched on the pendent was the name 'Trigg.' 'The necklace. You are such a good friend Avery,' read one of the comment left on the video. 'The necklace just broke me,' wrote another follower. As Woods wrote in the caption, she was getting ready for her and her husband's anniversary. 'Been awhile since I put makeup on so thought I'd get ready for our anniversary,' she said. 'Missed you.' She shared a similar message on her Instagram story, writing, 'Hi. Missed you & hope you're doing well.' Trigg was often featured on Kiser's social media accounts. She and her husband, Brady Kiser, welcomed their second child into the world in March. In April, Kiser shared a video of Trigg meeting his younger brother, Teddy. Kiser has not yet issued a public statement.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Edinburgh mob boss Mark Richardson's associates 'plotted Spanish hit' at secret gang summit
The murders of Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were 'plotted during a secret summit', according to new reports. The shooting happened in Costa Del Sol in Spain, after a masked gunman leapt out of a car outside an Irish pub on the beachfront in Fuengirola. Monaghan, 43, and Lyons, 46, were two of the leading members of the Lyons gang, reports the Scottish Daily Express. The planning is said to have taken plane in Kirkintilloch, nine miles north-east of Glasgow, where Daniel clan members 'gathered for a council of war'. READ MORE: Edinburgh locals 'really bugged' by 'glaring mistake' on hit Netflix series READ MORE: Robbie Williams' wife Ayda gives one-word take on Edinburgh as couple take in sights The Scottish Sun reports that top-ranking members of the Daniel clan are said to have gathered at a "secret location" in Kirkintilloch with high-ranking associates of jailed Edinburgh drugs baron Mark Richardson. In recent months, members of this east coast-west coast criminal alliance have suffered in silence in the face of a relentless onslaught from their hated rivals, the Lyons, along with a relatively new face on the scene - Ross 'Miami' McGill. Firebombings on cars, homes and businesses, drive-by shootings that left bullet holes in doors and windows, a violent home invasion in Glasgow that left a young boy and an older woman - both related to the Daniel family - bloodied and battered, and a number of machete attacks. In one, an Edinburgh businessman who just happens to be an old friend of Richardson's, was hospitalised; in another, workers at a Daniel-linked garage East Kilbride were injured by blade-wielding thugs. But nobody had been killed. And the word was starting to go out that the Daniels were defenceless in the onslaught of this violence. Not only that, they were being mocked by McGill and his crew, known as Tamo Junto (a Portugeuse phrase meaning 'we are together'), thanks to a blizzard of TikTok videos. The former Rangers football ultra now lives in Dubai, alongside Steven Lyons, 44 - acknowledged as the head of the gang - and members of the Irish Kinahan cartel. And it is the backing of the Kinahans which is seen as crucial to the recent rise of the Lyons. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox But to imagine that the Daniels were finished is to ignore the longer-term history of this bloody rivalry, which sparked into life with the bloody Applerow Motors shooting in north Glasgow in December 2006. In events later likened by Donald Findlay KC to "a scene from The Godfather", two gunmen in trenchcoats burst in and opened fire on David Lyons. He dived for cover but his 21-year-old nephew Michael Lyons was shot dead, while Steven Lyons and Robert Pickett were gravely injured. Now, it appears that the Daniels may have pulled off another 'spectacular' that will once again change the face of Scotland's underworld for years to come. The two rival gangs have their roots in the tower blocks and run-down council estates of north-east Glasgow - the Daniels in Possil and the Lyons in Milton. Even today, this turf is jealously guarded; as recently as April, an ageing Daniel gang member was jailed for life for the shotgun murder of a Lyons footsoldier in Milton. Malcom McNee, 63, was told he would die in prison for blasting to death John McGregor, 44. Prosecutor John Macpherson told Stirling Sheriff Court: "The background to this case is an ongoing feud between the Lyons and the Daniels organised crime groups. Westray Street is a regular meeting point for youths associated with the Lyons family, while members of the Daniel family live in adjoining streets." But while the rank and file still live here in some of Britain's poorest neighbourhoods, the bosses have fled to the suburbs and housing estates in the countryside. And here, too, the turf appears to be clearly marked with the Daniels putting down roots in East Dunbartonshire and the Lyons based around Cumbernauld. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. At one stage, Eddie Lyons Sr and other family members all lived in one street - dubbed, inevitably, the 'Lyons Den' - in an upmarket development off the M80, in new-build homes fitted with bullet-proof glass in the windows. Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll, the feared Daniel enforcer who was shot dead in 2010, moved to Lennoxtown and his right-hand man Francis 'Fraggle' Green swapped the mean streets of north Glasgow for rural Milton of Campsie (once described by the Glasgow Herald as a 'gangland village', much to the embarrassment of the locals). The late Jamie Daniel - who died of cancer in 2016 - lived in a mansion in Glasgow's West End but he too had links to Kirky. In 2012, after a taxi nearly clipped one of his lovers outside the town's Tesco supermarket, the scrap metal dealer turned millionaire crime boss was accused of exacting personal revenge. The taxi driver was summoned to his office, where a man emerged from a BMW with blacked out windows and delivered a savage beating; so savage, in fact, that the driver couldn't recall what happened when the case ended up in court. All the other witnesses developed a similar amnesia and Daniel walked free. Such memory lapses were also common among victims of Carroll's 'alien abduction' crew, rival Lyons dealers who were kidnapped, tortured and 'taxed' of their drugs and earnings, before being dumped in the street. One individual was left wandering in the leafy village of Lenzie, causing net curtains to twitch. When the sadistic Gerbil was lured out of hiding and ruthlessly taken out by the Lyons crew in a sophisticated operation, the hit took place in the most mundane of surroundings - an Asda car park in Robroyston, surrounded by busy, harassed mums and other weekday shoppers. Monaghan had been cleared of Gerbil's murder and he is said to have been a 'marked man' ever since, although it could be argued that the leading members of both gangs have lived their entire adult lives with a target on their backs. Some in Glasgow - including members of law enforcement - are sceptical that the Daniels and Richardson mob had the "wherewithal" to organise the shooting in the Costa del Sol.
