A group of seven families are taking TikTok to court in Créteil, France, accusing the social media giant of exposing their children to content that led two of them to take their own lives.

According to Algos Victima, a collective launched to bring the families together, their children were exposed to numerous videos promoting suicide, self-mutilation, and eating disorders.

The families are now bringing this civil action before the Créteil court in the hope that it will recognise that TikTok is at fault for allowing such content to circulate on its platform.

They also want the social network, which is currently used by over 21 million users in France, to regulate videos more effectively, so that minors are no longer shown content that may advocate suicide and other harmful content.

The case concerns seven teenage girls, two of which took their own lives when they were just 15 years old.

The parents of one of them, Marie, filed a criminal complaint last year.

Four of the seven teenagers attempted to take their own lives, and one of them suffered from anorexia, according to the French broadcaster.

The families’ lawyer, Laure Boutron-Marmion, is taking the Chinese social network to court on Monday, French broadcaster France Info reported.

Boutron-Marmion said the case represents the first group case of its kind.

“The parents want TikTok's legal responsibility to be recognised by the courts,” continued the lawyer. “This is a commercial company offering a product to consumers who are, moreover, minors. It must therefore answer for the shortcomings of this product.”

One of the mothers explained to France Info how their daughter, who had previously been victim of harassment, took refuge on TikTok.

"The algorithm picked up on the style of her searches and suggested other content, which got worse and worse, about depression and scarification,” she said. “TikTok amplified her discomfort by flooding her with content that teenagers her age should never see.”

"The image I had of Tiktok was of dance videos and make-up tutorials, but at no point did I think there were going to be videos explaining how to take apart a blade on a pencil sharpener to make scarification. It seemed inconceivable to me,” the family added.

The lawsuit adds to previous accusations against TikTok, as social media platforms face increased scrutiny to create safer online environments for children and teenagers.

Last week, Texas launched legal proceedings against the social media giant, alleging the platform has breached a new state law designed to protect children's personal information online.

The lawsuit, filed by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton on Thursday, accuses TikTok of sharing and selling minors' personal data without proper parental consent, violating the state's recently enacted Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act.

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