The company added in a statement that its community guidelines do not allow the presentation, promotion or sharing of plans for suicide or self-harm, and that it uses a combination of technology and moderation to ensure these standards are met.

The class action, which was filed at the Créteil judicial court, is separate from a criminal complaint filed against TikTok last year by the parents of Marie – one of the two teenagers who killed themselves.

Marie, whose last name was not used in the report, was 15 when she took her own life in 2021. Her death, according to her mother, was in part due to the video content she was able to access on TikTok without moderation.

Another girl whose family is involved in the trial also committed suicide, while four of the other five young women tried to take their own lives. At least one of them developed an eating disorder.

“The parents want TikTok’s legal liability to be recognized in court,” Ms Boutron-Marmion told Franceinfo.

“This is a commercial company offering a product to consumers who are, moreover, minors. They must therefore be held accountable for the shortcomings of the product.”

TikTok, like other major social networks, has faced scrutiny and criticism over its safeguarding practices.

More than a dozen US states recently sued the company – accusing it of contributing to a mental health crisis among teenagers.

Last year, the European Union opened an investigation into whether it broke new safety laws relating to, among other things, the protection of minors.

In an interview in April, Ms Boutron-Marmion told French legal news website Actu-Juridique that cases such as that of Molly Russell, the British schoolgirl who committed suicide in 2017 after seeing graphic images of self-harm and suicide online on Instagram and Pinterest, have raised awareness of the need for greater responsibility when it comes to social media content.

“Parents are starting to wake up. Many of them were unaware of the horrors circulating on the platforms. While we have seen a change in mindsets, the problem remains: addiction persists, including among adults.”