TikTok quizzed over illegal content videos after five teenagers die in wrong-way motorway crash

TikTok quizzed over illegal content videos after five teenagers die in wrong-way motorway crash Social media ‘likes’ driving surge in nighttime car thefts as teenage boys steal cars to record daredevil videos, police say - Bookmark Ireland’s media watchdog is challenging bosses at social-media giant TikTok over videos of illegal and reckless driving after five teenagers were killed in a wrong-way motorway crash. The platform is facing questions after the boys were killed when the stolen BMW they were in raced the wrong way up the M9 in Co Kildare, Ireland, smashing head-on into another car on Sunday. A boy and three women – two in their 30s and one in her 20s – who had been in the other car were all seriously injured and rushed to hospital. The four had been driving to Dublin Airport for a holiday. The five teenagers’ car was driven southbound on the northbound carriageway. Gardai in Dublin and surrounding counties say they are dealing with regular car thefts at night as groups of teenage boys steal cars to record TikTok videos. Videos have emerged of car thieves driving at extreme speed in the Irish capital and surrounding areas. Ireland’s premier Micheal Martin said there could be no tolerance for reckless driving, which in some cases was being done for “likes” on social media. John Joe O’Connell, vice-president of the Garda [police] Representative Association, said numerous gangs of boys and young men were “trying to outdo each other” in social media videos depicting interactions with Gardai, pursuits and wrong-way driving. He urged parents to talk to their sons about the potential consequences if they got into a stolen car “for the craic and the clicks”. The Irish media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, said it was asking TikTok chiefs whether it was cracking down on videos of illegal behaviour. A spokesperson said: “Coimisiún na Meán has contacted TikTok to seek a full account of how they are dealing with these issues, including how they are dealing with reports of illegal content and how they are applying their own community guidelines. “We are also looking for information on whether TikTok have introduced or scaled up proactive monitoring or additional human review of content or accounts. “We are also inquiring whether they have reported any relevant information or suspicion of criminal activity to An Garda Síochána [police].” They said they were in close contact with police on the issue. Accounts belonging to some of the boys who died reportedly appeared to show videos of cars being stolen and driven illegally, and being pursued by police vehicles. The driver and front seat passenger of the car hit by the stolen BMW, who are both in their 30s, remain in a critical condition. Irish politician Matt Carthy, chairman of the home affairs parliamentary committee, said: “We need to tackle the growing problem of the glorification of these type of actions on social media. “Social media companies need to be held to account for allowing these type of videos to remain on pages for prolonged periods of time.” The previous weekend, nine people were injured in a head-on collision on the M50 in Dublin, involving a car travelling in the wrong direction on the motorway. TikTok said it removed content that glorified violence or promoted crimes that could harm people, including risky driving. A platform spokesperson said it was closely monitoring content relating to the crash and removing videos and accounts that broke its rules. It said that, between January and March, of the content it removed for violating its policies on violent and criminal behaviour, 99.1 per cent was taken down before it was reported. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it restricted users under 18 from seeing content that is not suitable for them, which includes dangerous driving.