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 there were some things “we simply don’t have” because of “legal requirements around when we remove data”. Speaking on Safer Internet Day, Mr Derrington said TikTok had been in contact with some of the parents, adding that they “have been through something unfathomably tragic”. The families are campaigning for legislation to grant parents access to their child’s social media accounts if they die.
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