TikTok says data of four dead British teens may have been erased
A TikTok executive has said that 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 erased.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 134.The lawsuit claims the children died trying the "blackout challenge", in which a person intentionally deprives themselves of oxygen.Giles Dennington, 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 Dennington 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 they had not been able to access that data, Mr Dennington 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."Data protection requirements to remove data "can impact on what is available", he said, adding: "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 that 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 Dennington 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 Dennison noted that 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 Dennison 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."
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Edinburgh Live
5 hours ago
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh mob boss Mark Richardson's associates 'plotted Spanish hit' at secret gang summit
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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. 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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.
Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I'm fuming a ‘predator' adult woman chatted up my child on our family holiday – even AFTER I told her his age
Plus, find out the other reason people insisted the woman was a "walking red flag" SHOCKING MOVE I'm fuming a 'predator' adult woman chatted up my child on our family holiday – even AFTER I told her his age Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MUM has been left fuming after a 33-year-old "predator" tried to chat up her 16-year-old son on holiday. Carmel took to TikTok to share the shocking tale, as she revealed it had happened during a recent family vacation. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Carmel was left "raging" after catching a 33-year-old "predator" trying to chat up her 16-year-old son Credit: 3 The woman's attempt to get the teenager's Snapchat details came AFTER Carmel told her he was only 16 Credit: The woman had initially started speaking to Carmel, asking if her son has had his teeth done - to which she replied: "No, he's 16 - they're natural". The woman then replied "Wow, they're lovely". A few minutes later, Carmel went to the bar and left her son sitting with his grandad, at which point the "33-year-old woman turned around to my 16 year old son and said, 'Give me your Snapchat'." Carmel added that the woman - who she said looked "older than 33" - had "slyly" waited until she'd walked off so that she could approach her son. "You knew it were wrong," she continued. "You knew exactly what you were doing, predator, didn't you?" When Carmel discovered what had happened, she went up to the woman - who was on a FaceTime call at the time - and demanded to know why she had asked her son for his Snapchat. And when confronted, the woman admitted: "I knew it were wrong, and I'm sorry". "What were you gonna do? Have your wicked way and buy him a Big Mac?" Carmel raged. She concluded her video by saying she hoped the woman saw her TikTok, because they're both still in the resort and Carmel's "still not over it". I make my teenage daughters pay rent to stay in 'apartments' at home, and I'll 'evict' them if they don't cough up "I'm still raging!" she added in the caption. And in the comments section, people were quick to have their say - with the majority agreeing with Carmel that it was "totally inappropriate". "Imagine this was a man to a 16 year old girl," one sighed. "This is so wrong!" "My 17 year old has said women my age - in their 40s - have tried chatting him up when he's out," another added. "Absolutely gross and they are lucky I've never been there!!!!" "Why are you even having to deal with this s**t?" a third shouted. "Makes me sick - absolute freak!" someone else agreed. "I'm 37 and my eldest is 18, and I'd still have gone mental!" "Totally inappropriate," another said. "I'm 32 and have Snapchat only to contact my 13 year old niece! "Otherwise she'd never reply to my messages!" "Having Snapchat in your 30's is a waving red flag," someone else insisted.
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
I'm fuming a ‘predator' adult woman chatted up my child on our family holiday – even AFTER I told her his age
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