The vibrant life of 17-year-old Jaedon Bovell, a beloved son and aspiring content creator from Delaware, was tragically cut short in 2020. Today, his legacy endures not only in the cherished memories of his loved ones but in his family’s determined quest for accountability and safety in the digital age.
At the time of his passing, Jaedon was an active, popular teen with more than 25,000 followers on TikTok, a platform where he shared his energy through dance videos and trends. His last post, a joyful video of him dancing and singing, was made on June 1, 2020—a day before his life ended. This contrast between his outward persona and his final moments lies at the heart of his mother Michelle Ortiz’s mission.
In a devastating flashback, Jaedon’s passing was the direct result of an attempt to perform the “Blackout Challenge,” a dangerous viral trend that encourages self-asphyxiation until loss of consciousness. He was found in his home, having choked himself with a jiu-jitsu belt tied to a bunk bed. His mother, Michelle Ortiz, believes he was “mentally sucked” into the challenge, drawn by the content relentlessly fed to him by the platform’s “For You” recommendation algorithm.
“It doesn’t look like he would have killed himself. He loved himself,” Ortiz has said, viewing his death not as an intentional act but as the tragic consequence of a young person not understanding the “finality” of the risk, influenced by an addictive platform.
Driven by profound grief, Ortiz has channeled her loss into a landmark legal battle. In 2025, she joined five other families from the United Kingdom in a wrongful death lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, filed in Delaware’s Superior Court. The lawsuit argues that TikTok’s algorithm is defective and deliberately targets minors with dangerous content, creating an addictive experience they cannot turn away from.
“I’m not doing this for any other reason than I don’t want another mother to feel this way,” Ortiz has stated.
The case also champions “Jools’ Law,” proposed legislation that would require social media companies to preserve a child’s data for five days after their death, giving grieving families a crucial window to understand what happened. Ortiz and the other parents allege TikTok has refused to release data showing what their children were exposed to, hindering their search for truth.
Despite TikTok’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit—arguing it is protected by the Communications Decency Act and the First Amendment—Ortiz and the other families persevere. Their fight is no longer just about their own children; it’s about protecting all children online.