News Release: Belluck & Fox and Social Media Victims Law Center Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Meta, ByteDance, TikTok and the MTA

[NEW YORK, NY, Feb.22, 2024] – Belluck & Fox LLP and the Social Media Victims Law Center have initiated a groundbreaking wrongful death lawsuit. This legal action follows the tragic death of 15-year-old Zackery Nazario, who tragically lost his life due to the highly dangerous “Subway Surfing Challenge.” Having recently risen again in popularity, this challenge was targeted, encouraged, and inspired by social media content to which he was exposed. This lawsuit aims to hold Meta, TikTok, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority accountable for promoting and profiting from these life-threatening, viral challenges.

Popular since the 1980s, subway surfing has seen a resurgence among teens due to social media. Starting in 2021, the MTA reported a significant increase in incidents, with more than 450 cases in the first half of 2023. In that year, five people died from subway surfing in New York City, compared to five deaths between 2018 and 2022.

On the first anniversary of Zackery’s death, his family and friends gathered at the Williamsburg Bridge for a candlelight vigil and marched to the location near where Zackery fell to his death. This event aimed to unite the community in remembrance of Zackery, to share cherished memories, and to advocate for action against this deadly trend. Belluck & Fox LLP, along with the Social Media Victims Law Center, are committed to seeking justice for Zackery and, hopefully, providing some form of peace to his loved ones.

About the Social Media Victims Law Center
The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), socialmediavictims.org, was founded in 2021 to hold social media companies legally accountable for the harm they inflict on vulnerable users. SMVLC seeks to apply principles of product liability to force social media companies to elevate consumer safety to the forefront of its economic analysis and design safer platforms to protect users from foreseeable harm.

About Belluck & Fox LLP
Belluck & Fox, founded on the philosophy of pursuing justice, one family at a time, has been dedicated to fighting for justice and securing compensation for its clients. Belluck & Fox law firm specializes in wrongful death lawsuits involving a variety of circumstances including nursing home abuse or neglect, workplace accidents, public transportation disasters, motor vehicle accidents, and defective products. While no amount of financial compensation can replace the loss of a loved one, victims’ families should be compensated fairly for the wrongful death, providing them with a degree of financial comfort and justice for those left behind.

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