A mother who is among a group of British parents suing TikTok after the deaths of five children has described a hearing in America as "deeply painful".

五名儿童离世后，一群英国父母对TikTok提起诉讼，其中一位母亲将美国的一场听证会描述为“痛彻心扉”。



Ellen Roome, 49, from Gloucestershire, has been campaigning since her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died at home in Cheltenham in 2022.

来自格洛斯特郡的49岁母亲艾伦·鲁姆，自2022年14岁的儿子朱尔斯·斯威尼在切尔滕纳姆家中去世后，便一直奔走呼吁。

She travelled to Delaware to attend the hearing in the case filed by the Social Media Victims Law Centre against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.

她前往特拉华州，参加了由社交媒体受害者法律中心对TikTok及其母公司字节跳动提起的诉讼的听证会。

The case alleges Jools, Isaac Kenevan, 13, Archie Battersbee, 12, Noah Gibson, 11, and Maia Walsh, 13, died while trying an online challenge.

该案件指控朱尔斯、13岁的艾萨克·凯内万、12岁的阿奇·巴特斯比、11岁的诺亚·吉布森和13岁的玛雅·沃尔什在尝试一项网络挑战时死亡。

The bereaved parents believe their children saw the challenge on TikTok - although they don't have proof. TikTok says the data around what their children were watching has likely been deleted under data privacy rules.

这些痛失爱子的父母认为，他们的孩子是在TikTok上看到了这项挑战，尽管他们没有证据。 TikTok则表示，根据数据隐私规定，他们孩子观看过的相关数据可能已被删除。

The parents are suing TikTok in the US for wrongful death, a process that may see them find out what happened to their children, if that data can be recovered.

这些父母正在美国以过失致死为由起诉TikTok，若能恢复相关数据， 这一诉讼过程或许能让他们查明孩子身上究竟发生了什么。

Ms Roome wrote on Facebook: "Today we had our TikTok hearing.

鲁姆女士在脸书上写道：“今天我们参加了TikTok的听证会。”

"We now have to wait for the judge to decide whether the case is dismissed or whether we are allowed to proceed to the discovery stage.

“我们现在得等待法官决定是否驳回此案，或者是否允许我们进入证据开示阶段。”

"Sitting through the hearing was incredibly hard. The language was cold, technical and legal. For the court, this is about motions and procedures. For us, it is about our children. Our dead children."

“参加听证会的过程极其艰难。 语言冰冷、专业且充满法律术语。 对法庭而言，这关乎动议和程序。 但对我们而言，这关乎我们的孩子， 我们已故的孩子。”

She went on: "Listening to lawyers argue abstract points while the reality of our loss sat silently behind every word was deeply painful. This is our lived experience, our grief, and our determination to find the truth and protect other children.

她接着写道：“听着律师们争论抽象的观点，而我们的丧子之痛却静静地萦绕在每一个字背后，这让人痛彻心扉。 这是我们的亲身经历，我们的悲痛，以及我们查明真相、保护其他孩子的决心。”

"Whatever the outcome, we showed up. We spoke for our children. And we will keep going. Thank you to everyone who continues to support us."

“无论结果如何，我们都出席了听证会。 我们为孩子们发声。 我们将继续前行。 感谢所有继续支持我们的人。”

Ms Roome sold the financial business she had run for 18 years to campaign for Jools' Law, a right for parents to access their deceased child's data without a court order.

鲁姆女士卖掉了自己经营了18年的金融公司，以推动“朱尔斯法案”的制定， 该法案旨在赋予父母无需法院命令即可访问已故子女数据的权利。

She is also pushing for wider changes to social media to improve the safety of children online.

她还推动对社交媒体进行更广泛的改革，以提高儿童上网的安全性。

Speaking previously about internet safety, she said: "This is not about banning the internet. It is about stopping platforms being addictive by design, exposing children to harm, and avoiding responsibility when the worst happens.

此前在谈到网络安全问题时，她表示：“这并不是要禁止互联网。 而是要阻止平台通过设计让人上瘾，让儿童暴露在伤害之中，并在最坏情况发生时逃避责任。”

"Children deserve protection. Parents deserve answers. And tech companies must be held to account.

“儿童应该得到保护。 父母应该得到答案。 科技公司必须承担责任。”

"We are here to make sure other children are safer."

“我们在这里是为了确保其他儿童更加安全。”

Since her son's death, Ms Roome has been trying to obtain data from TikTok and ByteDance which she believes could provide an explanation as to what happened.

自儿子去世后， 鲁姆女士一直试图从TikTok和字节跳动获取数据，她认为这些数据或许能解释发生了什么。

All five parents believe their children died attempting a dangerous stunt known as the blackout challenge.

这五位家长都认为，他们的孩子是在尝试一项名为“窒息挑战”的危险特技时死亡的。

Around for decades, it's banned on mainstream social media apps, including TikTok.

“窒息挑战”已存在数十年，在包括TikTok在内的主流社交媒体应用上均被禁止。

TikTok has applied to dismiss the case, stating UK residents are suing US entities which do not operate or provide the social media firm's services in the UK.

TikTok已申请驳回此案， 称英国居民起诉的是不在英国运营或提供该社交媒体公司服务的美国实体。

It says established US law, such as the First Amendment, bars liability for third-party content on TikTok.

该公司表示，美国既定法律，如《第一修正案》，禁止对TikTok上的第三方内容承担责任。

A spokesperson for TikTok said: "Our deepest sympathies remain with these families. We strictly prohibit content that promotes or encourages dangerous behaviour.

TikTok的一位发言人表示：“我们向这些家庭表示最深切的同情。 我们严格禁止传播或鼓励危险行为的内容。”

"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.

“我们使用强大的检测系统和专门的执法团队主动识别并删除此类内容， 在发现违反这些规定的内容中，有99%会在被举报给我们之前就被删除。”

"As a company, we comply with the UK's strict data protection laws."

“作为一家公司，我们遵守英国严格的数据保护法律。”

素材来源：iYuba

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