TikTok’s chief operating officer blasted the House’s hearing on the platform Thursday, saying that it came from a place of xenophobia.“We’re committed to providing a safe, secure platform, that fosters an inclusive place for our amazing, diverse communities to call home. It’s a shame today’s conversation felt rooted in xenophobia,” Vanessa Pappas, TikTok’s COO, wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to our employees who work tirelessly to protect our platform & community.”

While TikTok has become the most popular app in the rest of the world, a domestic version called Douyin is available to Chinese consumers. The apps are nearly identical — but with one critical difference: users under 14 are required to use Douyin in healthy moderation on “teenage mode.”Young, impressionable users are limited to 40 minutes a day between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. to ensure they get adequate sleep. Endless zombie-like scrolling is interrupted by mandatory 5-second delays. They’re also only shown specially-selected “inspiring” content.“The algorithm is vastly different, promoting science, educational and historical content in China while making our citizens watch stupid dance videos with the main goal of making us imbeciles,” Nicolas Chaillan, former Air Force and Space Force Chief Software Officer told the Post.

The lawsuit alleges that “TikTok’s dangerous algorithm intentionally and repeatedly pushed the deadly ‘Blackout Challenge’ into both Lalani and Arriani’s TikTok ‘For You Page’” That means, according to the lawsuit, that TikTok had “specifically curated and determined that these Blackout Challenge videos – videos featuring users who purposefully strangulate themselves until losing consciousness – are appropriate and fitting for small children”.Arriani, the 9-year-old girl, was found “hanging by her dog’s leash which she had affixed to the door to her room. She had been in this condition for at least a half-hour in front of her 5-year-old brother.” Lalani, the 8-year-old girl, was found “hanging from her bed with a rope around her neck still warm to the touch. Lalani had laid out her bathing suit in anticipation of going swimming.”The two girls are one of seven children to have died as a result of the “blackout challenge”.Five of the children, including 12-year-olds in Colorado and Oklahoma, and a 10-year-old in Pennsylvania, are Americans.