Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - WARNING PARENTS! Girl, 10, DIES During Dangerous TikTok Challenge

Episode Date: May 19, 2022

A Philadelphia family is suing TikTok after their 10-year-old daughter dies trying a video challenge posted on the social media site. The challenge, called the 'blackout challenge," encourages users to asphyxiate themselves, pass out and regain consciousness, while on camera. Nylah Anderson was found unconscious in her mom's bedroom closet hung from a purse strap. Tawainna Anderson, Nylah's mother, says the video platform is negligent and has a 'defective design. Nylah saw the challenge on the app's 'For You' page. According to the lawsuit, the company's algorithm sent the video to the 10-year-old.  Last year, a 12-year-old boy died trying the same challenge. He used a shoelace to choke himself.  Anderson says TikTok is aware of the dangers but has made no efforts to change.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Jeffrey Goodman - Victim's Family Attorney, Partner, Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, P.C. (Philadelphia, PA), MakeSocialMediasafe.com Dr. Jorey Krawczyn  - Psychologist (Panama City Beach, FL), Adjunct Faculty with Saint Leo University; Research Consultant with Blue Wall Institute, Author: "Operation S.O.S. - Practical Recommendations to Help “Stop Officer Suicide”, bw-institute.com  Glenn Bard - Former Pennsylvania State Trooper First Class (Greensburg, PA), Computer Crime Investigations, U.S. Veteran of Operation Desert Storm, PATCtech Digital Forensics, PATCTech.com Dr. Michelle DuPre - Former Forensic Pathologist, Medical Examiner and Detective: Lexington County Sheriff's Department, Author: "Homicide Investigation Field Guide" & "Investigating Child Abuse Field Guide", Forensic Consultant, DMichelleDupreMD.com  Titania Jordan - Chief Parent Officer, Bark Parental Controls, Author: "Parenting In A Tech World", www.Bark.us, Instagram/Twitter: @TitaniaJordan,   Dave Mack - Crime Online Investigative Reporter   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Warning to parents. Warning. A 10-year-old little girl, absolutely beautiful little girl, is dead. Not from a car crash. Not from an accident on the playground. Not from some drive-by shooting at the mall.

She is dead. A 10-year-old little girl. and all I can think about is my little girl and my little boy at age 10. She is dead because of a TikTok challenge. May they rot in hell is the nicest way I can put it. And now to top it all off, we're finding out that this little girl and others like her were allegedly specifically targeted through an algorithm. You know how when you're online and you're reading an article and suddenly, let's see, I get a pop up for boys Crocs because I was just on Amazon searching for Crocs for my son. Weird shoe size, 14 and a half. And at first I thought, wow, how do they know I'm interested in Crocs?

Well, then the next time popped up Easter dresses because I've been looking for Easter dresses for my daughter. They target you. This 10-year-old child was targeted and she was sent info on this TikTok challenge and now she's dead. A 10-year-old little girl. Let's see if you start schooling at seven. Do you start at seven or six? Let's go with six. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. First, second, third, fourth, fifth grade. Fifth grade? Dead? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to this. It is almost impossible to fathom what this family from Chester is enduring. This is the latest child death to be linked to a social media dare dubbed the blackout challenge. This is where you hold your breath until you pass out. Here's what this young victim's mother wants you to know. It happened to her good, smart kid. And it happened under her own roof while the family was at home.

She was a butterfly. She was a butterfly. She was everything. She was a happy child. Ten-year-old Nyla Anderson is described as fun and bright. She spoke three languages. Like most tweens, she was on social media and participated in the recently popular, viral, and extremely dangerous Blackout Challenge. A challenge to see sort of how long almost you can be breathless or, you know, hold your breath,

but it can result in a strangulation. A blackout challenge? Leaving a 10-year-old little girl dead in her own home? How many times in the night, if I wake up, do I check on the twins? Make sure they're okay. When they go to bed in the morning, when they're back there doing their homework, I check on them. Can you imagine going in to check on your little girl or boy and finding them dead?

That is the horror that this family is living through. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now, Jeff Goodman, high-profile lawyer representing the victim's family. He's a partner at Sal's Mojaloosie Bondeschi PC and at makesocialmediasafe.com. He's practiced all over, but he is located in Philly. Jeff Goodman joining us, Dr. Jory Crawson, psychologist, faculty, St. Leo University, research consultant, and author of Operation SOS. Glenn Bard joining us,

former Pennsylvania State Trooper, first class, and he is a computer crime investigator, also a veteran of Desert Storm. Dr. Michelle Dupree joining me, forensic pathologist, medical examiner, detective, and author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. But first, to Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Dave, where did this happen? Nancy, this happened in Nyla Anderson's home with her mother downstairs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's hurtful to think this happened in their own home.

To you, Jeff Goodman, high-profile lawyer helping the victim's family, does the family still live in the same place where their little girl died, where Nyla lost her life? Yes, they do. The family was downstairs that afternoon while Nyla was up. They thought taking a nap. She was instead participating in this challenge when the family had the horror that no family should ever see when her mother found her daughter asphyxiated in her room. I don't know how they keep on. Tell me how the family is doing. It is a struggle every day for Tawana and her children. One of the ways that they keep on is by trying to help make sure this doesn't happen

to other families, trying to help to spread the message of the dangers that can come with these challenges and the dangers that can come when social media giants like TikTok don't behave responsibly and safely. Dave Mack, tell me exactly what happened. Nancy, as you just heard, Nyla Anderson was upstairs. Her family thought that she was laying down. But Nyla was actually online, on her phone, and was on TikTok. The blackout challenge on TikTok was there on her phone while she tried to do this challenge. In this particular case, while her family was downstairs, her mom is downstairs, Nyla took the strap from her mother's purse. And based on instructions she got via TikTok, she used that strap around her own neck in her mother's closet and hung herself.

Not intentionally. Her intention was not to hang herself. Her intention was to play the blackout challenge. And she did. She blacked out. Take a listen to our cut three, our friends at WPVI. Doctors say Nyla was at home when she tried the trend. She happened to be in her own bedroom of her house with her family at home. But no one was in the bedroom with her when

this happened so there was no one there to save her. Nyla's family is in a state of shock. They rushed her to Nemours Children's Hospital but she didn't make it. I'm so hurt. It's a pain that don't go away. It sits in your stomach. It sits at the top of your throat. And I'm so worried. Medical authorities say the lack of oxygen can lead to cardiac arrest and other medical dangers. Significant organ damage, including brain damage, which really is one of the most vulnerable organs to lack of oxygen and even death. To Dr. Michelle Dupree joining us, Dr. Dupree, thank you for being with us. Explain to me what we were just hearing from our friends at WPFI. Well, Nancy, the lack of oxygen actually causes the brain to swell. And as you know, the brain is inside our bone, our skull.

And so when it swells, it can't really expand. And that causes the brain to shift. And when it does this, it often presses down onto our respiratory center, which is in the medulla of our brain. And it causes us to then stop breathing. This is a trend all across the country and it's not just this little girl Nyla that has passed away. Take a listen to our cut eight. I don't know if the name Lataria Smith Jr. rings a bell to you. Take a listen to our friends WREG.

The family of Lataria Smith Jr. remembers how talkative, how outgoing the nine-year-old little boy was. John, did it? All of me, love all. You always say that to me. Instead of the boy looking forward to a summer full of activities, his relatives now prepare for his funeral. To see that baby laying in that casket hasn't even had an opportunity to grow up. You know, his life has ended because of some people putting stupid things on various sites. Latarius, who family calls TJ, was familiar with social media sites. He was discovered unresponsive in his room last week. They saw the belt was around his neck and they rushed him to the hospital. But he didn't survive. It wasn't until later on that we found

out that there was some type of video on TikTok. TJ, just nine years old when he saw this TikTok challenge, and now he's dead. Hear more about TJ from our friends at WREGRCut9. There was some type of video on TikTok, you know, letting kids know, you know, how to, what is it, strangle yourself, but you got to get out of it. The challenge is to get out of it. But he's nine years old. He's nine years old. So how was he going to get out of it? Over the last few years throughout the country, various social media trends like the Pass Out Challenge or Choking Games have been blamed for the deaths of young people. Our nine-year-old nephew, I mean, he's gone as a result of this. And the family is just devastated.

This family doesn't want others to endure the pain they're experiencing. Their message to parents tonight as we approach the summer, when children will have even more free time. Monitor everything. They encourage parents to block various social media sites, as well as educate themselves about what could be lurking behind your child's screen. I know you can't watch them 24 hours, but that in which you can do, just have to save a life. A nine-year-old little boy, TJ, dead. Now 10-year-old Nyla, dead. They're not the only ones. Take a listen to our

10, KFOR, talking about a 12-year-old boy. Police are warning right now that kids are spending a lot of time alone and bored. They say it's leading to especially preteens taking part in a so-called blackout challenge. His family's devastated, of course, on something just nonsense that happened. Police say they found the 12-year-old boy dead in a breezeway of this Bethany apartment complex just after midnight. They say there were marks on his neck. This was not a suicide attempt, but just an accident based on a possible TikTok challenge. It goes by different names, blackout challenge, pass out challenge, speed dreaming, the fainting game. Kids asphyxiating themselves, either choking themselves

out by hand or using some sort of a ligature like a rope or a belt or something like that, just so they can get the euphoria when they start to wake up. Speed dreaming, the fainting game. That is certainly airbrushing the horrible truth of what this TikTok blackout challenge is. It's a surefire way to kill yourself unwittingly. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Straight after Glenn Bard, former Pennsylvania State Trooper, First Class Computer Crime Investigations. He is at PATEC, P-A-T-C-E-C, Digital Forensics. Glenn, thank you for being with us. What is wrong with TikTok?

Why would they? Now, I've got to tell you, Glenn, both John David and Lucy, my children, now 14, have done TikTok challenges, both of the same nature on two separate occasions, one with John David and one with Lucy. I was working in the den, minding my own business, and John David appeared in the kitchen. He was pouring all these different things together. I don't even remember what they all were that he was getting out of the kitchen. And I said, son, are you actually cooking something? I'm in shock. He knows how to make cereal and ramen. So I was stunned. He goes, no, mom, I'm doing a TikTok

challenge. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. What TikTok challenge? It was harmless. And then Lucy's was similar. She was doing a TikTok challenge in the kitchen, pouring a bunch of stuff together, and it was supposed to react some way. Glenn Bard, is there no oversight at TikTok? Well, the thing about it is that first off, they do have certain settings. Like they try to say that you have to be 13 years or older to have an account, but that's not verified, obviously. Oh, please. If that works, I mean, that's like all the dating sites where you're supposed to put how old you are and send in a picture of yourself. That's all BS.

So you're telling me a child won't go on to an inviting site that's targeted at them and lie about their age? Of course they all lie about their age. Well, that's targeted at them and lie about their age? Of course, they all lie about their age. Well, that's exactly it. Again, it claims you have to be 13 to have an account or be a TikTok user, but there is no age verification. So that is one way where they're saying that they're trying to make sure children don't get access to this, but there's no way to actually confirm or verify any of that. The other thing is that these different challenges go viral and they go viral based off an algorithm that tells people that they should be watching these

videos based on their past history, location and different settings like that. So it kind of, if a person looks at one challenge and makes comments and watches those videos over and over, they're going to start seeing more challenges come into their For You page. What can you tell me about claims that TikTok has an algorithm, like the one I was describing, obviously I've been targeted to buy stuff,

that specifically targets certain age children. Well, what the algorithm is, simply enough, an algorithm is nothing more than a set of rules to complete a task. In this class, this instance, a task of telling people what to watch on their For You page. And it's based off two different things, two different brackets you could say. The first one is going to be things like your location, the language you're using, and so on. So the basic common stuff we would think of the second set of rules is based off of things like the likes, shares, comments, and even videos that have been completely watched or re-watched again. So what it's doing is if you have a person who likes and comments on a certain hashtag

or on videos that do include these different challenges, they're going to be recommended to watch more of these similar videos. Okay, let me ask you, Dr. Jory, do you understand what he just said? I kind of do and I kind of don't. Let me just say they didn't teach me that at law school. All right. Now, you put a crime scene tape around it. I will run circles around you.

But whatever he just said, what? Yeah. Let me talk from the psychological perspective. There's a science or a new study out. It's called cyber psychology. OK. And there's things that have been developed and understood through the research over the last 10-15 years in social media. The algorithms, though, can really further fine-tuned to pick out, you know, likes and dislikes,

and that comes into the marketing area of it. One thing in cyber psychology is the addictive quality that social media has. Oh, my stars. Hold on. I'm writing down a note. Addict to quality. Because we, our family, we don't have devices at the supper table or we're in the car riding somewhere and we're all talking. They are like monkeys with a toy.

John David and Lindsay, my children. I have to like take it out of their hand. And then that's a H-E-L-L of a fight right there to get it. Or we'll be at a restaurant. I look over and John David is staring right at it. And you know who else does it? My husband. And I said, are you addicted?

What is wrong with you? Which is, I know, not a good way to start a subject by saying what is wrong with you. He's long since learned to just say everything. Everything is wrong with me. And I'm like, well, I can't fight about that. But it's addictive. It's like alcohol or drugs. Yeah, because it's a positive reinforcement.

It's the opportunity to express your personality. That's the other thing that comes out in cyber psychology is that algorithms, anything that you post is going to be reflective of your personality. So if there's a deviant personality, it's going to come out in your social profile, anything that you put out there. Okay, just hold on.

Dr. Jory, Jeff Goodman, Dr. Dupree, Dave Mack, now joining me, our very good friend, Titania from Bark. I still don't get, and I understand that it happens. Like, I've never really tried to figure out how the TV works or how the phone works. I just know that it does. I also know that when I go on my iPad or my computer, I get a barrage of advertisements similar to things I've been shopping for.

All right. So let me ask you to Tanya Jordan joining me from our friends at Bark. I've got Bark on the twins phones and it's very sensitive. It picks up if somebody sends them a text with a curse word in it. I remember John David, let me bore you for one minute, Titania, because you've heard this story before. He's the goalie on the soccer team, and he dove through the net one time to stop a goal, and he was so proud, and he was showing off his bruise that he got from saving,

you know, stopping a goal. And Bark sent me an alert about self-harm because he had a bruise. It's very sensitive. What I don't understand, Titania, joining us from Bark, the chief parent officer at Bark Parental Controls, would Bark pick up something like this TikTok challenge where now I've got not one, but multiple little children dead? The short answer is yes.

Bark is alerting so many families to so many things that they have no idea is even happening. Not only TikTok challenges, but teen text slang, emoji usage that some of you probably would be blown away by. For example, the pasta bowl emoji, if your child is sending that around, they're probably not excited about Italian dinner tonight. It's shorthand for nudes because noodles send nudes, send nude photos. Oh, please stop right there. I was in the Philadelphia airport coming home, and my son loves all sorts of Asian food. We're forever at sushi, at ramen.

I saw a T-shirt that had a bowl of ramen, and it said Sin Nudes, N-O-O-D-S. I said, oh, that's perfect for John David. He wore it in several Facebook posts that I did, Insta and Twitter, before some guy wrote, hey, love the t-shirt, Nancy. And I thought, wow, he must like Asian food too. And I went, send nudes.

See, that was like two years ago. And I get it. It's just, I would never have thought of it if I hadn't read that Twitter response. I just didn't think anything of it. And I remember we were going somewhere. I said, John David, wear your Sin Nudes t-shirt. He went, you want me to wear that, Mom? I'm like, yeah, because I didn't get it.

He got it, but I didn't get it. Okay, go ahead. Bless his heart. Yeah, kids are special. I've got a 13-year-old, and their sense of humor is next level. But their decision-making prowess is not that of an adult. Their brains are not fully formed until they're in their early 20s. And so you mix the addictive nature with the peer pressure, with their inability to have

full comprehension of good choices and bad choices, and TikTok can be a recipe for disaster. And yes, Bark can alert you when your child is encountering dangerous content and dangerous people across over 30 social media platforms, text message, and email. And believe me, I am not getting a percentage from Bark. I'm not an ambassador or a salesperson. I'm the worst salesperson in the world. But I know that it works. I'm just trying to figure out a way to protect people from things, children from things like this TikTok challenge. You earlier heard from our friends at WGIV, but now take a listen to our cut five, a lawyer on this case. In 2021, reports began to emerge from throughout the world that children were dying as a result

of participating in TikTok blackout challenges. So what did TikTok do once they learned of this? Did they use their technology to protect children? Sadly, they didn't. What TikTok did was to use their app and algorithm to forward a blackout challenge video to 10-year-old Nyla Anderson. That video was essentially a how-to, a how-to video, how to asphyxiate yourself. That is what they sent to a child. To you, high-profile lawyer Jeff Goodman, joining me out of Philly, and he is representing Nyla's family. You were just hearing your partner, Bob Mangaluzzi. I want to follow up on what your partner was saying. Are you telling me, Jeff Goodman, that TikTok was alerted to what was happening and they have done nothing. TikTok had warning after warning that this

challenge was being posted on their platform, that this challenge was being spread on their platform. All of the features of the algorithm could have enabled TikTok to identify it as dangerous, flag it and stop it. Instead, the algorithm identified that users wanted to see it, and therefore it sent it to more and more users through their For You page. Two of the other guests used the magic word here, and they said addictive when talking about the qualities of TikTok and social media. That's the goal of TikTokok the way it spreads these challenges to have users addicted so that they stay engaged so that they continue to watch because that's where their profits are driven from big tech is the big tobacco of the modern era when it comes to spreading addiction for the purpose

of promoting their products and that's exactly what tikt did here. I don't know if you guys remember my old friend, Larry King, who really helped me. I had been a guest on Larry's show many, many times and then was fortunate enough to be named his permanent guest host. And I got to do that for several years. And I remember sitting in on a meeting with him and his staff. It was very informal and they were pitching ideas. And somebody pitched something and Larry said, no. And they said, why? It'll rate. And he went, well, yeah, if we put people fornicating on air, that'll rate.

But I'm not going to do it. I mean, there is a line. It's a moral line of what you think is right or wrong. And sure, you might make more money doing fill in the blank, it, whatever it is, but that doesn't make it right. And what I am hearing from Jeff Goodman, who is representing Nyla's family, I mean, think about the mother going in and finding her 10-year-old child dead. They have been alerted, and they're still doing it. Is that right, Glenn Bard? Obviously, I don't believe it is. No. Anytime you have anything that could be dangerous, especially to our younger children, I don't think it's right. And I think they do have some sort of diligence to try to protect people using it. Of course, that's for someone like Jeff and you to make an argument about in court.

But, you know, from my perspective of it as an examiner, when I see these things, it is truly heartbreaking. And I do think that there has to be some way that we can start protecting our children a little bit better. Well, you said to make that argument, you're absolutely correct, Jeff Goodman. I think Glenn Bard, our former Pennsylvania state trooper, who is now at pactech.com, is talking about the First Amendment. But let me remind everybody, and agree or disagree, Jeff Goodman, the First Amendment is not unfettered. For instance, here's a great law school example. You can't run into a theater and yell fire and cause a stampede.

Certain materials that are reviled, certain types of pornography. There's not free speech for everything. And that's the argument I would make against TikTok here. You don't have unfettered access to our children's minds. I couldn't agree more, Nancy. The example you gave of fire in a crowded theater, the reason is because it can cause danger. And free speech is limited where it can cause danger. And that is never more necessary than when it comes to protecting children by making sure they do not see dangerous

content. Your television has had parental controls for almost 30 years for this exact purpose. Yet the far more sophisticated technology that the social media companies do continues to shun any movement in that direction. And now we are hearing that who's going to be banned and who is not going to be banned, but they can't control TikTok blackout challenges. Really? Let's bring it all home. Take a listen to our cut six. This is Nyla's mother, Tawana. We lived a happy life until December 7th, 2021, when our lives changed forever from this terrible tragedy. I could not stop replaying this day in my head. The unbreakable bond in our family is now shattering void. And that was now Nyla remains. And following this tragedy, I had discovered that Nyla was not the only victim to this horrible challenge on TikTok.

I have learned that it has taken many children's life. I want to hold this company accountable. It is time that these dangerous challenges come to an end, that other families don't experience the heartbreak we live every day. I accepted that my daughter's voice is going forever, so I'm going to speak for her, and the message here today is something has to change. Something has to stop, because I wouldn't, never want no other parent to go through what I'm going through ever since December 7th. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. We lived a happy life until December 7th, 2021, when our lives changed forever from this terrible tragedy.

I could not stop replaying this day in my head. The unbreakable bond in our family is now shattering boy and that was now neither remains and following this tragedy I had discovered that night it was not the only victim to this horrible challenge or tick-tock I have learned a has taken many children's I I want to hold this company accountable it's time that these dangerous challenges come to an end that other families don't experience the heartbreak we live every day i accepted that my daughter's voice is going forever so i'm going to speak for her and the

message here today is something has to change something has to change. Something has to stop because I never want no other parent to go through what I'm going through ever since December 7th. To you, Jeff Goodman, high-profile lawyer representing articulate through her tears and just choking down the pain she has suffered. What? I feel very much like David and Goliath right now for you. How are you, Jeff Goodman and Tawana Anderson, Naila's mom. How are you going to stop TikTok? I mean, when I think about it, I think of David with his sling and his stone. And Goliath, huge warrior, obviously a giant of some sort.

How are you going to do that? We're going to do that because we're right and because it's important for child safety. And that's a message that everybody understands, that protecting children must always come first. And the courts have countless stories of the David and Goliath battles where the Goliath corporations have been taken down by victims like Tawana Anderson, who stepped up, who had her voice heard, and who ultimately convinced either jurors or judges that we were right here and that something needs to change. And when it comes to big corporations, the courts are one of the best ways to make that happen. Well, here's an example of taking on a giant corporation and winning.

Take a listen to Hour Cut 12, our friend Lisa Nico at KUTV. For years, we have known that children and the elderly might mistake these for candy or mints, but now it's getting out of hand. In fact, now it's developed into a dangerous dare for teenagers. We get a lot of calls about them. The Utah Poison Control Center says these are a deadly threat. Typically they call when they're concerned or they're scared. Kids and teens are now daring one another to ingest the poisonous pods.

I don't think anyone I know would is stupid enough to do the Tide Pod challenge. Liquid detergent all wrapped up in a tight bright package. So this is not something you want to flirt with. So far this year. I think it's funny. Multiple in utah are among the nearly 50 americans who reported being exposed to the toxic tincture it's like scary and funny in a horrible way half of those exposures were on purpose like people will do like the most stupid stuff ever yes they. And it was brought to the attention of Procter & Gamble. The danger of these pods, they're tiny, they look like candy, they look edible. Children were eating them inadvertently. And there were teens and tweens eating them as part of a challenge.

So what did Tide do? Listen to our Cut 13 KUTV. Tide's parent company Procter and Gamble say they're now changing the design to make it harder for kids to abuse. We've worked diligently with industry making the film on that packet even more tough so that it isn't as easy to puncture and reducing the toxicity and the strength of laundry detergents. While only a couple exposures have been reported here in Utah, Poison Control believes many more teens are trying the challenge. Their warning to parents...

There have been deaths associated with the pods. There have been serious eye injuries. Don't be blind to the Tide Pod Challenge. It's about the likes. It's about the views on Instagram, the followers and the false sense of popularity. You know, that is the way Tide responded. But according to Jeff joining us right now, the lawyer for Nyla's family, Jeff Goodman, joining us out of Philly, TikTok is basically saying, screw you and doing nothing.

How many more deaths will it take? To you, to Tonya Jordan, joining us from Bark, any ideas? I mean, Jeff's already, I've got the lawsuit right now, right in front of me. He has filed, is filing an incredible lawsuit against TikTok to try to make them change what they are doing. Any ideas to Tonya? What else can be done? Well, that's a great question, you know, and not speaking on behalf of TikTok,

but in their defense, they do have a trust and safety team that is composed of humans who do care about other humans. And so imploring them to do the right thing for children and for families over profit is what we as a society have to continue to do. You know, obviously, as a large corporation with billions of dollars at play, they have liability, they have processes, they have a lot of things that they need to go through to protect their company.

But at the end of the day, we have to prioritize the health and safety of children that are knowingly on their platform over the profits of the corporation. Well, I agree with you. I don't know how much I trust the TikTok trust and safety team. Well. Because the trust and safety team has already been apprised of Nyla's death, as well as

I've got a stack of papers right here on my desk. It's so thick I can't even get through them all, of all the children that have died because of TikTok challenges. But you can report on TikTok. Report it on TikTok. Go listen. Click on the white arrow on the right of the video. Tap the icon that says report with a flag symbol. Tap suicide, self-harm, dangerous acts and report the content.

Not only that, not just reporting to TikTok, because that keeps it internal. You have to think about it from a PR play of they don't want this negative press out there. And if nobody else knows about it, we're not going to get mad about it and do anything about it. So we have got to also let our local law enforcement know. Good idea. We've got to let our local legislators know. I always think the first place to start is calling your rep and calling your senator first place to start. Do they care? Maybe, to start. Do they care?

Maybe, maybe not. Do they care about reelection? You darn right they do. Jeff Goodman, tell me about the lawsuit in a nutshell. The lawsuit focuses on the problem at TikTok of how their algorithm functions and the fact that this algorithm would send a how to asphyxiate yourself guide to a 10 year old, that algorithm could just as easily be used to take advantage of the technology to screen dangerous content. Instead, the algorithm was used to send dangerous content. That algorithm in the simplest form is a product. And this is a product liability lawsuit about the defective nature of that algorithm and that it could ever function in such a manner. You know, when it comes to algorithms, and I may need you and Glenn and Tawana to explain a little bit better. I remember when I first left CNN HLM and launched crimeonline.com and crime stories and we were constantly sending out

missing children unsolved homicides all day every day and then I found out they weren't reaching all of our Facebook followers and Twitter followers and Insta followers and I remember asking our managing editor Wilson like why aren aren't these missing children notices going out and these amber alerts? Why are all of our followers getting them? He said, the algorithm, all of your posts don't go through to all of your followers. And I mean, my life has been representing crime victims. I didn't know anything about algorithms. And when I found out, it struck me wrong. And now I'm hearing this. How can it be, Jeff Goodman, that a 10-year-old little girl is targeted by TikTok?

It certainly shouldn't be. The algorithm also understands its users. TikTok conducts surveillance on the users through what they are looking at. And it's not just what they like. It's also how long their eyes remain on the screen in watching a video. And it uses all of that data. That data can and should be used to help make social media safe. And instead, that data seems to be harnessed, directed almost exclusively at the goal of corporate profits. That needs to change. And to you, Dr. Michelle Dupree, this challenge is extremely dangerous, even if it doesn't result

in death, because time is brain cells. Anytime you are without oxygen or blood supply, you are risking permanent damage to part of your brain. Isn't that true? Absolutely, Nancy. And every time that this is done, then more and more and more brain cells are affected. So every time someone plays this game and survives, they are still causing injury. If you want more information, call Safe Kids Worldwide at 202-662-0600. Repeat, 202-662-0600. And then do something. Pick up your phone.

Call your senator. Call your rep. If you don't know their numbers, Google them. I've done it many a time. Just pick up the phone. Let your voice be heard. And do not let giant corporations like TikTok ruin your child's life. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.