16-Year-Old Was 'Inundated' by 'Unsolicited Suicide Videos' on TikTok Before Killing Himself, Parents Claim in Lawsuit

Mar. 15, 2025

Chase Nasca.Photo:SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF SUFFOLK

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF SUFFOLK

A family on Long Island, N.Y., is blaming TikTok for the death of their 16-year-old son, whom they claim in a lawsuit was driven to kill himself three years ago after being “inundated” with “unsolicited suicide videos" and other objectionable clips.

“TikTok did not send this child the content it thought he wanted, but the content from which it thought he could not look away,” attorneys for the parents of Chase Nasca wrote in a complaint filed in November.

His family is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages, claiming negligence and product liability related to TikTok’s design and algorithm, among other allegations.

“Chase’s death is a tragedy, and Defendants TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Inc. … take the mental health and wellbeing of TikTok users seriously,” attorneys for the company wrote in a motion to dismiss that was filed in December. (A judge has not yet ruled.)

Chase’s parents, Dean and Michelle Nasca, have taken a sharply different view in their battle against TikTok, which began in early 2023 and has since been winding its way through the court system.

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A Feb. 5 filing from the Nascas opposing the motion to dismiss alleges that after Chase, a high school junior and honors student, opened a TikTok account, he “was involuntarily subjected to thousands of extreme and deadly videos advocating violence against others, self-harm, and suicide.”

However, his parents claim in court papers, Chase had shown no obvious depression and, while using TikTok, had searched for uplifting or more traditional teenage content.

His parents say in their filings that they wereunaware of the risks content on TikTokcould pose to children.

According to the Nascas' complaint, their son had shown “no outward signs of depression at any time” and they blamed TikTok for what they called his “silent but severe decline in his mental health,” with the situation getting worse around October 2021.

By then, “inherently dangerous and harmful accounts comprised most if not all the content that TikTok was matching to and selecting for Chase,” the family’s complaint alleges.

“TikTok identified and amplified an incredible number of dangerous and harmful accounts, creating binge periods for Chase where he was inundated with videos and clips of suicide, hopelessness, and self-harm,” the complaint claims.

The family’s court filings also include many screenshots from the dark videos they say were served to Chase’s account.

TikTok.Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty

Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty

Chase’s parents claim that TikTok was aware of his age and vulnerabilities — “including his desire to stop seeing the thousands of horrific videos, many of which the Defendants collaborated on and encouraged.”

In seeking to have the suit dismissed, however, TikTok’s attorneys argue it had no actionable role in the teen’s death.

Representatives for TikTok did not respond to a request for additional comment on Wednesday, Feb. 19; an attorney for the company in the lawsuit referred questions back to the company’s publicists.

The affidavit also states that the company kept track of users’ location through GPS and used “Chase’s geolocating data to send him … railroad themed suicide videos both before and after his death.”

The court filings describe Chase before he died as a “smart and outgoing child” who “excelled at school, was athletic … [and] close to his family and a large circle of friends,” with “no history of anxiety or depression.” He even had Olympic soccer dreams.

“The TikTok defendants knew or should have known that Chase was engaged in harmful use of their product, that their decision to send him thousands of extreme and harmful videos was negatively impacting his mental health,” his parents argue in their complaint, “and moreover, based on Chase’s own searches, TikTok knew or should have known that he was looking for the opposite content from what TikTok was serving him and that TikTok was pushing him over the edge.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

source: people.com