A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Netflix that was filed by the family of a teenage girl who claimed her 2017 suicide was prompted by watching the streaming giant's controversial show 13 Reasons Why.
The class-action lawsuit was filed last August by John Herndon, who claimed his 15-year-old daughter Bella had 'died as a result of the tortious acts and omissions of Netflix that caused, or at least substantially contributed to, her suicide' in April 2017.
The suit also argued that Netflix's algorithm for suggesting shows resulted in targeting at-risk teens.
However, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, of the Northern District of California, ruled in Netflix's favor Tuesday on the basis of free speech protections. She decided that the streaming platform cannot be sued over suggesting the show to viewers.
'This is a tragic case,' Gonzalez Rogers said. 'But ultimately, I don't think that it survives.'
'Federal courts frequently deal with such tragedies including in the context of deaths stemming from the violation of civil rights,' Gonzalez Rogers added.
The family of Bella Herndon (pictured) found the 15-year-old girl hanged in her bedroom shortly after she finished watching season one of 13 Reasons Why in 2017
Bella's parents, John and Donna Herndon, slammed the streaming giant for preying on vulnerable viewers
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Netflix that was filed in August by the family of a teenage girl who claimed her 2017 suicide was prompted by watching 13 Reasons Why
The Netflix drama, which is based on a book, faced a wave of criticism after it was released in March 2017. The show centers around a high school-aged girl who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 cassettes for each of the people she
