Inset: Jaedon Bovell (TikTok). Background: Michelle Ortiz speaking to reporters outside Delaware Superior Court where her wrongful death lawsuit is being weighed by a judge (WPVI/YouTube).
A grieving mother from Delaware has shared the tragic story of her 17-year-old son, who lost his life attempting a hazardous TikTok trend known as the “Blackout Challenge.” This trend reportedly urges individuals to strangle themselves with items like belts or purse strings until they lose consciousness. The teenager is among at least five young people involved in a wrongful death lawsuit currently under consideration by a Delaware judge, who is deliberating on a motion to dismiss the case.
Michelle Ortiz, the mother of Jaedon Bovell, spoke to the Delaware News Journal outside a Wilmington courtroom, expressing her heartache and disbelief. “He had no idea it would be fatal,” Ortiz shared as she recounted the events leading to the lawsuit.
In 2020, Jaedon tragically passed away from self-asphyxiation after using a jiu-jitsu belt attached to his bunk bed. Ortiz explained that her son became increasingly captivated by social media, where he gained a significant following of over 25,000 and achieved “TikTok fame.” This obsession, she believes, led him to attempt the deadly challenge.
Jaedon’s TikTok account, still active, features videos of him participating in various dances and trends. His final post, uploaded on June 1, 2020, just a day before his death, captures him dancing and singing. “Does he look like someone who would take his own life?” Ortiz questioned, reflecting on his last video as proof of his love for life. “He was confident, handsome, intelligent, and incredibly funny,” she added.
Ortiz has joined forces with five other families from the United Kingdom in a legal battle against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court. The case, initially filed without Ortiz, has been updated to include her and Jaedon’s story. A Wilmington judge heard the case on January 16, following TikTok’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
Ortiz joins five other families, all from the United Kingdom, who are suing two TikTok entities and the app’s parent company, ByteDance, in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court. One of the entities is incorporated in Delaware, per the Journal. Their legal complaint was first filed last year without Ortiz but has since been amended to add her and Bovell’s case, which was heard on Jan. 16 by a judge in Wilmington after TikTok filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
The complaint says ByteDance’s “design and distribution decisions, including promotion of this and similar challenges to minor users,” as well as its “harmful algorithmic targeting and discrimination” are to blame for the deaths. It lists juveniles who are not named in the lawsuit as some of the “multiple” children who have been affected by the “Blackout Challenge.”
A 12-year-old boy in Colorado, for instance, is said to have died after attempting the challenge “by choking himself with a shoelace,” according to the complaint.
“I’m not doing this for any other reason than I don’t want another mother to feel this way,” Ortiz told the Journal on why she joined the lawsuit.
Liam Walsh, who lost his daughter Maia, said, “Nothing was wrong until they downloaded TikTok on their phones with our permission because TikTok made out that it was safe for a 13-year-old to be on there.”
Matthew Bergman, an attorney representing the families, blasts TikTok as being a “For You page that deluges young people, young kids with dangerous material,” according to local ABC affiliate WPVI. “In this case, dangerous choking challenges,” he told the outlet. “Not material kids want to see, material they can’t turn away from.”
Lawyers for TikTok argue that the case should be dismissed under the First Amendment and have stated in court that the current law, dubbed the Communications Decency Act, bars internet companies from liability for content put out by third parties.
“Our deepest sympathies remain with these families,” a TikTok spokesperson told WPVI on the pending litigation. “We strictly prohibit content that promotes or encourages dangerous behavior. Using robust detection systems and dedicated enforcement teams to proactively identify and remove this content, we remove 99% that’s found to break these rules before it is reported to us.”
