A mother is suing TikTok, alleging that her 10-year-old daughter died after attempting to do the “blackout challenge” that she saw on the app.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleges that Tawainna Anderson found her daughter Nylah Anderson unconscious on Dec. 7, 2021 after attempting the challenge. The challenge encourages people to choke themselves until they pass out.

The daughter died in a hospital five days later, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which was filed last week, alleges that TikTok knew about the challenge and didn’t stop its spread.

A TikTok spokeswoman said in a statement that the “blackout challenge” wasn’t a trend on TikTok and that the challenge predated its platform.

“We remain vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would immediately remove related content if found,” the TikTok spokeswoman said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the family for their tragic loss.”

Robert J. Mongeluzzi, a lawyer for Ms. Anderson, said that Ms. Anderson’s daughter learned about the challenge from TikTok and not another social media platform.

“TikTok’s algorithm sent what was essentially a how to asphyxiate yourself video, disguised as a challenge, to a 10-year-old,” said Mr. Mongeluzzi. “It is inexcusable.”

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., has grown rapidly in recent years, hooking people with its secretive algorithm, which delivers video clips that it thinks users would like. The app said last year that it had more than one billion monthly users. One research firm estimated that TikTok was the world’s most visited site on the internet in 2021.

But the video app’s algorithms can drive minors to videos about sex, drugs and eating disorders, according to investigations by The Wall Street Journal.

The lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s algorithm determined that the “blackout challenge” was “well-tailored and likely to be of interest to 10-year-old Nylah Anderson, and she died as a result.”

Ms. Anderson and Nylah’s estate are seeking an undisclosed amount of monetary damages from TikTok.

Tech companies that host user-generated content have had broad legal protections from liability under a 1996 federal law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.