Exclusive: Colorado Congressman Buck Challenges TikTok to Pull 'How-to' Carjack Videos

TikTok once again finds itself mired in scrutiny as its CEO is being challenged by Colorado's Republican Congressman Ken Buck to provide answers regarding "criminal behavior that your application has promoted through its algorithm."

In a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew previewed exclusively by Newsweek, Buck raises concerns that TikTok's algorithm may have played a role in promoting videos instructing users on how to break into 2010-2021 Hyundais and Kias during a time in which carjacking have increased in major cities across the country.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are moving to introduce bills allowing the Biden administration to ban TikTok on the grounds that its parent company ByteDance is based in China, meaning it holds little power to stave off data requests from the Chinese Communist Party. During a House committee hearing on the issue last week with Chew, lawmakers showed a video threatening violence against the committee.

"It's deeply concerning that TikTok has apparently chosen to ignore their own community standards," Buck told Newsweek. "By failing to follow their guidelines, they have encouraged a viral and dangerous trend that increased carjackings."

In his letter Buck notes that, like the committee hearing incident, the car break-in videos, which sometimes contain "literal how-to-instructions," do not conform to TikTok's community guidelines stating, "We take a firm stance against enabling violence on or off TikTok" and "We do not allow people to use our platform to threaten or incite violence."

The Colorado Republican asserts that these videos are not a small part of the TikTok community either, noting that these videos have "amassed tens of millions of views on the app" and that "popular" hashtag #KiaBoys "curates criminal behavior for millions of impressionable teenagers." The hashtag alone boasts 27.5 million views.

Newsweek asked TikTok whether it was aware of this issue and what actions it has taken to address this content. A company spokesperson said community guidelines show that the company does no promote or enable criminal activity and that the company is removing content that violates those standards.

"TikTok does not condone this behavior which violates our policies and will be removed if found on our platform," the spokesperson said.

In his letter to Chew on the matter, Buck requests answers on when the company first became aware of the carjacking trend, what steps it has taken to prevent the virality of #KiaBoys and other hashtags related to car theft, what is the company's process for "deplatforming or reducing the spread of criminal content," and what role TikTok's algorithm has played in amplifying #KiaBoys.

In September of 2022, CNBC reported on the TikTok theft challenge, noting that in St. Petersburg, Florida, police reported more than a "third of all car thefts there since mid-July are linked to the TikTok challenge." In Los Angeles, officials said the challenge led to an 85 percent increase in thefts of those car brands. Chicago saw an 800 percent increase over one month.

This is not the only dangerous trend to go viral on TikTok. At least two children died after performing the "Blackout" challenge in which users choke themselves until they pass out. At least three teens were hospitalized after performing the Benadryl Challenge which involves taking excessive amounts of the allergy medication to allegedly experience hallucinations. Another challenge known as "devious licks" encouraged kids across the country to vandalize their schools and assault other students and staff members.

"Americans deserve answers from TikTok about when they were aware of these trends on their app, what they did to blunt them, and if they are working to reduce the spread of criminal content on their platform," Buck told Newsweek.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted on Sunday that the House "will be moving forward" with legislation to "protect" TikTok user data from the Chinese Communist Party. While some House Democrats have come out in opposition of banning the app, Senate Democrats remain largely supportive of a TikTok crackdown. Virginia's Democratic Senator Mark Warner leads an ongoing effort to grant the Biden administration power to ban the app.