Anderson v. TikTok, Inc.

Issue: Whether § 230 bars wrongful death claims against TikTok based on the platform's algorithm recommending the "Blackout Challenge" — a dangerous viral trend — to a 10-year-old girl who died attempting it.

Tawainna Anderson's 10-year-old daughter Nylah died after attempting the "Blackout Challenge," a viral TikTok trend in which participants choke themselves until passing out. Nylah's FYP (For You Page) — TikTok's personalized recommendation feed — served her the challenge video. Anderson sued, arguing TikTok's recommendation algorithm targeted the challenge video to Nylah as its own expressive act. The Third Circuit reversed dismissal, holding that TikTok's targeted recommendation of specific content to a specific user was TikTok's own "expressive activity" — distinct from merely hosting third-party content. Because the claim targeted TikTok's recommendations rather than the Blackout Challenge video itself, § 230 did not apply.

The first circuit decision to hold that algorithmic content recommendations fall outside § 230's protection as the platform's own independent speech. Directly conflicts with the Second Circuit's Force v. Facebook and is the leading authority for plaintiffs arguing that AI-powered content recommendation is not publisher activity. Represents the most significant circuit split in current § 230 doctrine and raises fundamental questions about the future scope of platform immunity as algorithms become the dominant mechanism of content distribution.