New York Mayor Eric Adams joined the crowd of lawmakers blaming social media for society’s ills, saying he wants to hold the platforms accountable for a growing number of car thefts in the city.
Adams and New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell “sounded the alarm” on the Kia Challenge, a social-media-driven trend spawned by viral videos that take viewers through steps for stealing certain models of Kia and Hyundai cars. So far this year, New York police have made about 109 arrests for thefts of Kias and Hyundais, a representative from the police department’s auto crimes unit said at a Thursday press conference.
“This really emphasizes my continuous call for the responsible behavior of social media,” Adams said at the press conference. “This challenge in particular with Kia and Hyundai, we see it as not only stealing a vehicle, but it’s stealing the future of our young people.”
In cities across the U.S., car theft began to increase during the pandemic and hasn’t leveled off. In New York, grand larceny of motor vehicles increased by 32% last year, more than any other type of major felony, according to NYPD data. The Kia and Hyundai thefts are primarily concentrated in the Bronx and northern Manhattan, Commissioner Sewell said.
The viral videos target Hyundais and Kias that lack an electronic-security feature – called an engine immobilizer – that keeps the car from being started without a key. Among 2015-2019 model-year cars, theft claims were nearly twice as common for Hyundai and Kia vehicles as a group as for all other manufacturers, according to a Highway Loss Data Institute analysis of 2021 insurance.
The Kia Challenge started driving related crime in New York last September, Sewell said, after having proliferated on TikTok since at least last July. Adams’s public rebuke of social media companies comes after hearings in Washington, D.C., last week, where lawmakers grilled TikTok CEO Shou Chew about the app’s security and policies. While several federal lawmakers are calling for a ban on the company’s app over national security fears, Adams wouldn’t say whether he agrees with their demand.
“I think that it’s imperative for Congress and the federal lawmakers to do a deep dive and come up with the right way to monitor social media,” he said on Thursday.
Adams’ concerns appear to be grounded in citywide safety. Earlier this year, the mayor called out the dangers of subway surfing – another risky behavior driven by virality on social media – after it led to the death of a 15-year-old Manhattan teen.
“As we continue to decrease crime and move crime in the right direction, we don’t need aggravating factors such as what we’re seeing in a social media challenge of this magnitude,” Adams said on Thursday. “We don’t need social media to contribute to social disorder.”
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