A Court Will Decide if a GIF Can Be Considered a ‘Deadly Weapon’

On Monday, a suspect faced federal charges in a Dallas County court for allegedly sending a strobing GIF that triggered a seizure in Kurt Eichenwald, a Newsweek writer with epilepsy, late last year.

Light-induced seizures have been fought with lawsuits and TV bans in the past. But like something out of Black Mirror, they’ve had their day in what’s likely the first criminal trial over a seizure induced via the internet.

The case has similarities with previous complaints over videos, often with bright flashing lights, that triggered seizures. For example, a scene from a 1997 episode of Pokémon, in which Pikachu launches a lightning attack, reportedly hospitalized some 685 children.

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